This chapter develops a theory of reanalysis called limited repair parsing. Repair parsers deal with the problem of local ambiguity in part by modifying previously built structure when the chosen structure later proves to be inconsistent. This modification of existing structure distinguishes repair parsing from parallel or multi-path parsing, least-commitment parsing, backtracking, or reparsing...

A theoretical landmark in the growing literature comparing language and music is the shared syntactic integration resource hypothesis (SSIRH; e.g., Patel, 2008), which posits that the successful processing of linguistic and musical materials relies, at least partially, on the mastery of a common syntactic processor. Supporting the SSIRH, Slevc, Rosenberg, and Patel (Psychonomic Bulletin & Revie...

In three eyetracking studies, we investigated the role of conceptual plurality in initial parsing decisions in temporarily ambiguous sentences with reciprocal verbs (e.g., While the lovers kissed the baby played alone). We varied the subject of the first clause using three types of plural noun phrases: conjoined noun phrases (the bride and the groom), plural definite descriptions (the lovers), ...

Classic reduced relative clause garden path sentences (e.g., The horse raced past the barn fell) are notoriously difficult to comprehend, even after repeated exposure [1, 2]. We present a silent eye tracking experiment showing that increasing the weight of the matrix verb phrase with a particle or an adverbial facilitates recovery from misanalysis, as in The horse raced past the barn fell (down...

When people create linguistic expressions, they should avoid ambiguity. Current evidence on this is mixed. In two experiments, subjects read sentences including passive relative clauses, which can be written in full or reduced form (The team (that was) defeated in the Super Bowl vowed revenge); when reduced (without the that was), ambiguity is a threat. Subjects were told about the optional mat...

In 2 experiments, a new technique called the auditory moving window was used to investigate aspects of spoken-language processing. Participants paced their way through spoken sentences divided into word or wordlike segments, and their processing time for each segment was recorded. The 1st experiment demonstrated that high-frequency words in spoken sentences require less time to process than do ...

Problems which Induce performance that has the fa lse appearance of success (garden path problems) may be an I n e v i t a b l e consequence of the need ( I n both human and computer problem so lv ing systems) to create abs t rac t knowledge representat ions In order to make problem so lv ing e f f i c i e n t . An example is presented from s domain of physics problem so lv ing tasks in which a...