Settling Into Semantic Space: An Ambiguity-Focused Account of Word-Meaning Access.

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  • Author(s): Rodd JM;Rodd JM
  • Source:
    Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science [Perspect Psychol Sci] 2020 Mar; Vol. 15 (2), pp. 411-427. Date of Electronic Publication: 2020 Jan 21.
  • Publication Type:
    Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Language:
    English
  • Additional Information
    • Source:
      Publisher: Sage Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 101274347 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1745-6924 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 17456916 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Perspect Psychol Sci Subsets: MEDLINE
    • Publication Information:
      Publication: 2010- : Thousand Oaks, CA : Sage
      Original Publication: [Washington, D.C.] : Association for Psychological Science, 2006-
    • Subject Terms:
      Comprehension* ; Human Development* ; Individuality* ; Learning* ; Psycholinguistics* ; Semantics*; Humans
    • Abstract:
      Most words are ambiguous: Individual word forms (e.g., run ) can map onto multiple different interpretations depending on their sentence context (e.g., the athlete/politician/river runs ). Models of word-meaning access must therefore explain how listeners and readers can rapidly settle on a single, contextually appropriate meaning for each word that they encounter. I present a new account of word-meaning access that places semantic disambiguation at its core and integrates evidence from a wide variety of experimental approaches to explain this key aspect of language comprehension. The model has three key characteristics. (a) Lexical-semantic knowledge is viewed as a high-dimensional space; familiar word meanings correspond to stable states within this lexical-semantic space. (b) Multiple linguistic and paralinguistic cues can influence the settling process by which the system resolves on one of these familiar meanings. (c) Learning mechanisms play a vital role in facilitating rapid word-meaning access by shaping and maintaining high-quality lexical-semantic knowledge throughout the life span. In contrast to earlier models of word-meaning access, I highlight individual differences in lexical-semantic knowledge: Each person's lexicon is uniquely structured by specific, idiosyncratic linguistic experiences.
    • Contributed Indexing:
      Keywords: cognition; comprehension; language/communication; lexical ambiguity; vocabulary; word-meaning access
    • Publication Date:
      Date Created: 20200122 Date Completed: 20210208 Latest Revision: 20210208
    • Publication Date:
      20221213
    • Accession Number:
      10.1177/1745691619885860
    • Accession Number:
      31961780