Cognitive Aspects of Computational Language Acquisition

Cognitive Aspects of Computational Language Acquisition
Author: Aline Villavicencio
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 326
Release: 2013-01-11
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 3642318630

Questions related to language acquisition have been of interest for many centuries, as children seem to acquire a sophisticated capacity for processing language with apparent ease, in the face of ambiguity, noise and uncertainty. However, with recent advances in technology and cognitive-related research it is now possible to conduct large-scale computational investigations of these issues The book discusses some of the latest theoretical and practical developments in the areas involved, including computational models for language tasks, tools and resources that help to approximate the linguistic environment available to children during acquisition, and discussions of challenging aspects of language that children have to master. This is a much-needed collection that provides a cross-section of recent multidisciplinary research on the computational modeling of language acquisition. It is targeted at anyone interested in the relevance of computational techniques for understanding language acquisition. Readers of this book will be introduced to some of the latest approaches to these tasks including: * Models of acquisition of various types of linguistic information (from words to syntax and semantics) and their relevance to research on human language acquisition * Analysis of linguistic and contextual factors that influence acquisition * Resources and tools for investigating these tasks Each chapter is presented in a self-contained manner, providing a detailed description of the relevant aspects related to research on language acquisition, and includes illustrations and tables to complement these in-depth discussions. Though there are no formal prerequisites, some familiarity with the basic concepts of human and computational language acquisition is beneficial.

Logical Aspects of Computational Linguistics

Logical Aspects of Computational Linguistics
Author: Sylvain Pogodalla
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 291
Release: 2011-06-22
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 364222220X

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Logical Aspects of Computational Linguistics, LACL 2011, held in Montpellier, France, in June/July 2011. The 18 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 31 submissions. The papers address a wide range of logical and formal methods in computational linguistics such as type-theoretic grammars, dependency grammars, formal language theory, grammatical inference, minimalism, generation, and lexical and formal semantics.

The Handbook of Computational Linguistics and Natural Language Processing

The Handbook of Computational Linguistics and Natural Language Processing
Author: Alexander Clark
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 802
Release: 2013-04-24
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1118448677

This comprehensive reference work provides an overview of the concepts, methodologies, and applications in computational linguistics and natural language processing (NLP). Features contributions by the top researchers in the field, reflecting the work that is driving the discipline forward Includes an introduction to the major theoretical issues in these fields, as well as the central engineering applications that the work has produced Presents the major developments in an accessible way, explaining the close connection between scientific understanding of the computational properties of natural language and the creation of effective language technologies Serves as an invaluable state-of-the-art reference source for computational linguists and software engineers developing NLP applications in industrial research and development labs of software companies

Empiricism and Language Learnability

Empiricism and Language Learnability
Author: Nick Chater
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 217
Release: 2015-07-09
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0191053597

This interdisciplinary new work explores one of the central theoretical problems in linguistics: learnability. The authors, from different backgrounds---linguistics, philosophy, computer science, psychology and cognitive science-explore the idea that language acquisition proceeds through general purpose learning mechanisms, an approach that is broadly empiricist both methodologically and psychologically. For many years, the empiricist approach has been taken to be unfeasible on practical and theoretical grounds. In the book, the authors present a variety of precisely specified mathematical and computational results that show that empiricist approaches can form a viable solution to the problem of language acquisition. It assumes limited technical background and explains the fundamental principles of probability, grammatical description and learning theory in an accessible and non-technical way. Different chapters address the problem of language acquisition using different assumptions: looking at the methodology of linguistic analysis using simplicity based criteria, using computational experiments on real corpora, using theoretical analysis using probabilistic learning theory, and looking at the computational problems involved in learning richly structured grammars. Written by four researchers in the full range of relevant fields: linguistics (John Goldsmith), psychology (Nick Chater), computer science (Alex Clark), and cognitive science (Amy Perfors), the book sheds light on the central problems of learnability and language, and traces their implications for key questions of theoretical linguistics and the study of language acquisition.

The Handbook of Contemporary Semantic Theory

The Handbook of Contemporary Semantic Theory
Author: Shalom Lappin
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 771
Release: 2019-02-12
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1119046823

The second edition of The Handbook of Contemporary Semantic Theory presents a comprehensive introduction to cutting-edge research in contemporary theoretical and computational semantics. Features completely new content from the first edition of The Handbook of Contemporary Semantic Theory Features contributions by leading semanticists, who introduce core areas of contemporary semantic research, while discussing current research Suitable for graduate students for courses in semantic theory and for advanced researchers as an introduction to current theoretical work

Computational Modeling of Human Language Acquisition

Computational Modeling of Human Language Acquisition
Author: Afra Alishahi
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 94
Release: 2022-06-01
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 3031021401

Human language acquisition has been studied for centuries, but using computational modeling for such studies is a relatively recent trend. However, computational approaches to language learning have become increasingly popular, mainly due to advances in developing machine learning techniques, and the availability of vast collections of experimental data on child language learning and child-adult interaction. Many of the existing computational models attempt to study the complex task of learning a language under cognitive plausibility criteria (such as memory and processing limitations that humans face), and to explain the developmental stages observed in children. By simulating the process of child language learning, computational models can show us which linguistic representations are learnable from the input that children have access to, and which mechanisms yield the same patterns of behaviour that children exhibit during this process. In doing so, computational modeling provides insight into the plausible mechanisms involved in human language acquisition, and inspires the development of better language models and techniques. This book provides an overview of the main research questions in the field of human language acquisition. It reviews the most commonly used computational frameworks, methodologies and resources for modeling child language learning, and the evaluation techniques used for assessing these computational models. The book is aimed at cognitive scientists who want to become familiar with the available computational methods for investigating problems related to human language acquisition, as well as computational linguists who are interested in applying their skills to the study of child language acquisition. Different aspects of language learning are discussed in separate chapters, including the acquisition of the individual words, the general regularities which govern word and sentence form, and the associations between form and meaning. For each of these aspects, the challenges of the task are discussed and the relevant empirical findings on children are summarized. Furthermore, the existing computational models that attempt to simulate the task under study are reviewed, and a number of case studies are presented. Table of Contents: Overview / Computational Models of Language Learning / Learning Words / Putting Words Together / Form--Meaning Associations / Final Thoughts