How Do People Process Ambiguous Strings

Hsiu-Ying Liu, Cheng-Chung Kuo

Abstract


This article combines ambiguity phenomenon with Chinese word segmentation to observe how human being conduct language processing to clarify ambiguity between overlapping ambiguity and combination ambiguity. Artificial intelligence will easily missegment these two strings, while the study tries to introduce optimality theory to discover possible base of these two types of ambiguity comprehended by general people. According to the result, the key to clarify ambiguity is context, idiomaticity and word frequency.

Keywords


Ambiguity; Chinese word segmentation; Language processing; Compound

Full Text:

PDF

References


Chen, X. (2010). Cong Yuyixue Jiaodu Tan Hanyu zhong de Qiyi Xianxiang [Talking about ambiguity in mandarin from semantic perspective]. Retrieved from http://www.jiaokedu.com/discourse/hyywx/278505.html

Cui, Z. C. (2008). Lüe Lun Xiandai Hanyu de Qiyi Xianxiang [General study on ambiguity in modern mandarin]. The Science Education Article Collects, 33.

Huang, C. N. (1997). Segmentation problems in Chinese processing. Applied Linguistics, 1, 72-78.

Li, C. N., & Thompson, S. A. (1981). Mandarin Chinese: A functional reference grammar. Taipei: The Crane Published.

Lü, S. X. (1984). Qiyi Leili (Study on Ambiguous Sentences). Zhongguo Yuwen, 5.

McCarthy, J. J. (2002). A thematic guide to optimality theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University.

Minidxer. (2008). Retrieved from http://blog.minidx.com/2008/01/04/352.html

Prince, A., & Smolensky, P. (2004). Optimality theory: Constraint interaction in generative grammar. Blackwell.

Sun, M. S., & Zuo, Z. P. (1998). Overlapping ambiguities in Chinese text. In Overlapping ambiguities in Chinese text (pp.323-338).

Wei, Q., Sun, M.S., & Menzel, W. (2008). Statistical properties of overlapping ambiguities in Chinese word segmentation and a strategy for their disambiguation. TSD ‘08 Proceedings of the 11th international conference on Text, Speech and Dialogue.

Xu, H. Z. (2006). Duoyi yu Qiyi—Taiwan Guanggao Yuyan Shili Fenxi [Polysemy and Ambiguity—Analysis on Advertisement Language in Taiwan] (Master’s thesis). Taipei: National Chengchi University.

Xu, S. Y. (1985). Zai Yiding Yujing zhong Chansheng de Qiyi Xianxiang [Ambiguity in certain context]. Zhongguo Yuwen, 5.

Zhang, L. (2009). Jianlun Hanhu Qiyi Xianxiang [Brief study on ambiguity]. Journal of Yangtze Normal University, 25(5), 133-135.

Zhao, Y. R. (1992). Hanyu zhong de Qiyi Xianxiang [Ambiguity in mandarin]. In Zhongguo Xiandai Yuyanxue de Kaituo han Fazhan (pp.249-263). Bejing: Tsinhua University Press.

Zhu, D. X. (1980). Xiandai Hanyu Yufa Yanjiu [The research of modern mandarin syntax]. Beijing: Shangwu Yinshu Guan.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3968/n

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c)




Share us to:   


 

Online Submissionhttp://cscanada.org/index.php/sll/submission/wizard


Reminder

How to do online submission to another Journal?

If you have already registered in Journal A, then how can you submit another article to Journal B? It takes two steps to make it happen:

1. Register yourself in Journal B as an Author

Find the journal you want to submit to in CATEGORIES, click on “VIEW JOURNAL”, “Online Submissions”, “GO TO LOGIN” and “Edit My Profile”. Check “Author” on the “Edit Profile” page, then “Save”.

2. Submission

Go to “User Home”, and click on “Author” under the name of Journal B. You may start a New Submission by clicking on “CLICK HERE”.


We only use three mailboxes as follows to deal with issues about paper acceptance, payment and submission of electronic versions of our journals to databases: caooc@hotmail.com; sll@cscanada.net; sll@cscanada.org

 Articles published in Studies in Literature and Language are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY).

 STUDIES IN LITERATURE AND LANGUAGE Editorial Office

Address: 1055 Rue Lucien-L'Allier, Unit #772, Montreal, QC H3G 3C4, Canada.
Telephone: 1-514-558 6138 
Website: Http://www.cscanada.net; Http://www.cscanada.org 
E-mailoffice@cscanada.net; office@cscanada.org; caooc@hotmail.com

Copyright © 2010 Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture