Hard to See, the Dark Side Is

Syntactic Anomalies Applied to a Selection of Parsing Models illustrated by the Speech of Master Yoda

Trabajo Escrito , 2007 , 20 Páginas , Calificación: 1,7

Filología inglesa - Lingüística

“Clear your mind must be, if you are to discover the real villains behind this plot.”

If Star Wars is an important step in the history of film, Master Yoda’s way of speaking is one in the establishment of linguistic awareness beyond linguistic circles. His way of speaking has become a cult over the years and his quotations are widely known, not only among Star Wars fans. Even somebody who has not seen any of the six episodes (so did the author of this paper) is very likely to know to whom sentences like the above-mentioned quotation refer. This is due to the fact that Master Yoda, to whom the sentence can be attributed, has a very unique way of speaking; the syntactic structure underlying his utterances is of a high recognition value.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

• Introduction
• Non-interactive Models
  • Garden-Path Model
    • Application to example-sentence
• Interactive Models
  • Referential Theory
    • Application to example-sentence
  • Unrestricted-Race Theory
    • Application to example-sentence
• The Role of the Verb
  • Understanding Verbs via projections
  • Understanding Verbs without projections
  • Application to example-sentence
• Cognitive Grammar
  • Langacker's Cognitive Grammar
    • Application to example-sentence
• Conclusion
• Bibliography

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte

This paper aims to explore the process of understanding sentences, particularly those containing syntactic anomalies, through the lens of various parsing models. The focus is on analyzing how these models account for the comprehension of inverted sentence structures, using examples from the speech of Master Yoda in Star Wars. The paper examines the limitations of non-interactive models, such as the garden-path theory, and explores the role of context and interaction in language processing through interactive models like the referential theory. The paper also delves into the significance of the verb in sentence comprehension and concludes with an analysis of Langacker's Cognitive Grammar, highlighting the importance of context in understanding syntactic anomalies.

• Syntactic anomalies and their impact on language processing
• Comparison of different parsing models (non-interactive vs. interactive)
• The role of the verb in sentence comprehension
• The influence of context in understanding syntactic anomalies
• Application of parsing models to real-world examples (Master Yoda's speech)

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel

The introduction sets the stage by introducing the unique linguistic style of Master Yoda and its potential for understanding syntactic anomalies. It outlines the paper's objective to explore various parsing models and their application to Yoda's speech.

The chapter on non-interactive models focuses on the garden-path model, which proposes a two-stage process of sentence understanding. The model's limitations in handling syntactic anomalies are illustrated through an example sentence from Yoda's speech, highlighting the need for a more interactive approach.

The chapter on interactive models explores the referential theory and the unrestricted-race theory, both of which emphasize the role of context and multiple sources of information in language processing. The application of these theories to Yoda's speech demonstrates how they can account for the comprehension of syntactic anomalies.

The chapter on the role of the verb examines the importance of verbs in sentence comprehension, exploring both projection-based and non-projection-based approaches. The chapter illustrates how the verb's role can be crucial in understanding sentences with inverted structures, as seen in Yoda's speech.

The chapter on cognitive grammar delves into Langacker's theory, which emphasizes the role of conceptualization and context in language processing. The application of this theory to Yoda's speech highlights how it can provide a comprehensive framework for understanding syntactic anomalies.

Schlüsselwörter

The keywords and focus themes of the text include syntactic anomalies, parsing models, language processing, Master Yoda, Star Wars, garden-path model, referential theory, unrestricted-race theory, the role of the verb, cognitive grammar, Langacker's Cognitive Grammar, context, and sentence comprehension.

• Universidad: University of Leipzig (Insitut für Anglistik)
• Curso: Psycholinguistics
• Calificación: 1,7
• Autor: M.A. Claudia Jahn (Autor)
• Año de publicación: 2007
• Páginas: 20
• No. de catálogo: V141653
• ISBN (Ebook): 9783640519019
• ISBN (Libro): 9783640520534
• Idioma: Inglés
• Etiqueta: Hard, Dark, Side, Syntactic, Anomalies, Applied, Selection, Parsing, Models, Speech, Master, Yoda