Event Date: Thursday, 3 March, 2016
Location: Via Santa Maria, 36, Pisa, PI, Italia [2nd floor seminar room]
Speaker: Afra Alishahi (Tilburg University)
Title: Generalization patterns in a probabilistic model of argument structure acquisition
Abstract: I will present a probabilistic usage-based model of verb argument structure acquisition that can successfully learn abstract knowledge of language from instances of verb usage. The model provides concrete explanation for the observed generalization patterns in child language acquisition. Argument structure constructions are represented as probabilistic associations between syntactic and semantic features of a verb usage; these associations generalize over the syntactic patterns and the fine-grained semantics of both the verb and its arguments. The probabilistic nature of argument structure constructions in the model enables it to capture statistical effects in language learning, and adaptability in language use. I will briefly present recent applications of this model on learning thematic role profiles and investigating verb production in first and second language.