Prediction is no panacea: the key to language is in the unexpected

Prediction is no panacea: the key to language is in the unexpected

For action systems, the critical task is to predict what will happen next. In language, however, the critical task is not to predict the next auditory event but to extract meaning. Reducing language to an action system, and putting prediction at center, mistakenly marginalizes our core capacity to c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Behavioral and brain sciences Vol. 36; no. 4; p. 372
Main Authors: Rabagliati, Hugh, Bemis, Douglas K
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: England 01-08-2013
Subjects:
Comprehension - physiology
Humans
Models, Theoretical
Speech - physiology
Speech Perception - physiology
Online Access:Get more information
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Description
Summary:For action systems, the critical task is to predict what will happen next. In language, however, the critical task is not to predict the next auditory event but to extract meaning. Reducing language to an action system, and putting prediction at center, mistakenly marginalizes our core capacity to communicate the novel and unpredictable.
ISSN:1469-1825
DOI:10.1017/S0140525X12002671