Interpretation-Based Processing: A Unified Theory of Semantic
Sentence Processing
Raluca Budiu
John R. Anderson
Abstract
We present interpretation-based processing --- a theory of sentence
processing that builds a syntactic and a semantic representation for a
sentence and assigns an interpretation to the sentence as soon as
possible. That interpretation can further participate in comprehension
and in lexical processing and is vital for relating the sentence to
the prior discourse. Our theory offers a unified account of the
processing of literal sentences, metaphoric sentences, and sentences
containing semantic illusions. It also explains how text can prime
lexical access. We show that word literality is a matter of degree and
that the speed and quality of comprehension depend both on how similar
words are to their referents and how salient the sentence is with
respect to the preceding text. Interpretation-based processing also
reconciles superficially contradictory findings about the difference
in processing times for metaphors and literals. The theory has been
implemented in ACT-R (Anderson & Lebiere, 1998).
Models