Experimental Linguistics - Maria Polinsky

Summary

The transcript discusses the evolution of linguistics from a solitary theoretical pursuit to a field embracing large-scale, experimental approaches. It highlights the inadequacy of relying on personal thoughts or a few friends' opinions and emphasizes the need for data from diverse speakers. The Amazon Mechanical Turk is mentioned as a tool for gathering such data. The summary also touches on behavioral linguistics, the impact of language processing on theory, and future directions, including brain processing of language and reformulating theories based on experimental data.

Takeaways

• 📚 Linguistics used to be a solitary theoretical pursuit, with linguists relying on their own thoughts and a few friends' opinions.
• 🌟 The realization that language phenomena can vary greatly among individuals led to a shift towards more empirical, data-driven approaches.
• 🧠 Linguists' judgments often differ significantly from those of non-linguists, highlighting the need for broader sampling in linguistic studies.
• 🔍 The advent of online platforms like Amazon Mechanical Turk has facilitated large-scale linguistic surveys and experiments.
• 📊 Behavioral approaches in linguistics involve conducting extensive surveys to gather data from many speakers, leading to more robust linguistic theories.
• 📈 The integration of statistical models into linguistic analysis has become crucial with the influx of big data from behavioral studies.
• 🔄 Theoretical linguistics must adapt to incorporate findings from experimental methods, which can sometimes contradict traditional theories.
• 🧠 Investigating how language is processed in the brain is identified as the next frontier in linguistic research.
• 🌐 Cross-linguistic studies are becoming more common, comparing how different languages process similar structures.
• 🔍 Experimental methods are being used to address more complex theoretical questions and to refine our understanding of language structure and use.

Q & A

How was linguistics traditionally approached, and how has it changed recently?

Traditionally, linguistics was approached through armchair theorizing, where linguists would think about language phenomena and consult a few peers for validation. Recently, there has been a shift towards more experimental approaches, involving large-scale data collection and behavioral studies.

What is a major limitation of the traditional approach to linguistics?

The traditional approach was limited by relying on the judgments of a small group of people, leading to variability in interpretations. It could miss broader trends or variations in how language is used by different groups.

What led to the development of behavioral approaches in linguistics?

The realization that there is significant variation in language phenomena and that relying on a small set of personal judgments was insufficient led to the development of behavioral approaches, which collect data from large groups of speakers.

What role does Amazon Mechanical Turk play in modern linguistic studies?

Amazon Mechanical Turk allows linguists to collect large-scale data from many participants quickly and efficiently. It is used to gather judgments on language usage from a broad audience, helping researchers validate linguistic theories with real-world data.

What is resumption in English, and how does it challenge traditional linguistic theories?

Resumption refers to the use of resumptive pronouns, such as in the sentence, 'This is the person that when the police arrested him, everyone was happy.' Traditional theories say such structures are incorrect, but behavioral data show people often use them, suggesting a need to rethink grammatical rules.

How do processing studies impact linguistic theorizing?

Processing studies examine how language structures are understood in real time by speakers. If a structure is harder to process, it might explain why some languages avoid it. However, when studies show no processing difficulty for certain structures, as in relative clauses, linguists need to reconsider other explanations.

Why is the study of reaction time important in linguistics?

Reaction time helps linguists understand how quickly speakers process different linguistic structures, offering insights into cognitive processing and the complexity of language use. This data can inform linguistic theories about sentence difficulty and language understanding.

What are the two future frontiers in linguistic research as identified in the script?

The two frontiers are: (1) understanding how language is processed in the brain, and (2) reformulating linguistic theories by using experimental data to answer specific questions about language, such as the role of gender in language processing.

What does the script suggest about language processing across different languages?

Initial studies suggest that speakers of different languages (e.g., English and Japanese) process similar structures, like relative clauses, in similar ways in the brain. This implies that cognitive processes underlying language might transcend individual languages.

How might gendered languages be explored experimentally according to the script?

The script suggests comparing how speakers of gendered languages, like Russian or Spanish, mentally process nouns versus speakers of non-gendered languages, like English. Experimentation could reveal whether gender in language affects cognitive representation or has another purpose.