Reseach Interests

My current research is concerned with the extent to which human language processing has adapted so as to make optimal use of both linguistic and non-linguistic information. I am particularly interested in the use of probabilistic techniques for modelling both linguistic knowledge and processes. Not only is a probabilistic framework ideal for reasoning about optimal behavior, is it also convenient for expressing the kinds of preferences that people accrue as a result of their linguistics experience.

• Modelling the relationship between distributational properties of language and human linguistic biases.
• Statistical models of lexical syntax-syntax, including subcategorization and argument structure, word sense, and thematic fit.
• Incremental probabilistic models of human sentence parsing and interpretation.
• Experimental studies of human linguistic comprehension and production, using eye-tracking to monitor gazes in reading and visual worlds.

In recent research with Patrick Sturt (Glasgow) and Martin Pickering (Edinburgh), I have also worked on the problem of syntactic reanalysis. While theories of syntactic processing typically focus on the problem of initial disambiguation strategies, it is also necessary to understand the mechanisms used to recover from erroneous decisions, or 'reanalyse'. This research has developed a monotonic model of parsing and reanalysis, wherein certain revision operations can be carried out straightforwardly, while other are predicted to lead to conscious processing difficulty. In addtion to explaining a range of existing evidence, we have also conducted new experiments which confirm the model, and identify a clear distinction between 'easy' reanalysis and conscious 'garden path' constructions.