Zoom link: https://mit.zoom.us/j/91279678580
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Speaker: Michaela Socolof

Affiliation: CPL / Levy Lab

Title: An information-theoretic approach to compositionality

Abstract: A fundamental property of language is that words can be combined into larger phrases in systematic and predictable ways. This property, known as compositionality, allows language users to produce novel, complex utterances using set rules. Yet compositionality is not absolute—some structures involve meanings that combine in non-systematic ways. If we have a way of precisely quantifying compositionality, then we can investigate the relationships between compositionality, linguistic structure, and processing. This talk will present an approach to formalizing compositionality using information theory and will include a discussion of completed and potential future experiments.