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Ss read sentences specifying relations among concepts, with the sentences related to each other in different hierarchical structures. In the case where sentences had implicative relationships, time to read sentences low in the hierarchy was less if sentences higher in the hierarchy had been read previously, and sentences inconsistent with expectations based on earlier items took longer. However, when structural relations did not involve implication about content, time to read the sentences was not very different regardless of whether related sentences had been read previously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper defines the relationship between linguistics and information science in terms of a common interest in natural language. The notion of automated processing of natural language-i.e., machine simulation of the language processing activities of a human-provides novel possibilities for interaction between linguists, who have a theoretical interest in such activities, and information scientists, who have more practical goals, e.g. simulating the language processing activities of an indexer with a machine. The concept of a natural language information system is introduced as a framework for reviewing automated language processing efforts by computational linguists and information scientists. In terms of this framework, the former have concentrated on automating the operations of the component for content analysis and representation, while the latter have emphasized the data management component. The complementary nature of these developments allows the postulation of an integrated approach to automated language processing. This approach, which is outlined in the final sections of the paper, incorporates current notions in linguistic theory and information science, as well as design features of recent computational linguistic models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

L'auteur passe en revue les différents systèmes, soit électroniques, soit simulés sur ordinateur qui ont été proposés dans le monde. Il décrit également les diverses méthodes d'analyse du signal vocal utilisées. Les tendances actuelles dans ce domaine sont dégagées et un schéma d'un système de reconnaissance de phrases est proposé. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consider one voice, bandlimited in K different ways. A complete paired-comparison schedule is presented to N listeners to obtain 'similarity-with-respect-to-quality' judgments. From each listener's judgments, a 'perceptual space' is determined and the question is: 'Are there individual differences between these N perceptual spaces?' In order to answer this, we compare perceptual spaces, obtain some index of similarity, and determine a 'points-of-view' space containing N points. Suppose this is a two-space. Typically we now argue for differences on the basis of how the N points spread out on a sheet of graph paper, but a very real question is rarely considered. How big can the points-of-view space be? By introducing 'random listeners' (random perceptual spaces), we can answer this question; and the results so far indicate that 'real listeners' cluster so tightly in this 'real-plus-random' space that no individual differences can be found for the 'real listeners.' [This research was supported by the Office of Naval Research.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of a closed-message set of synthetic or artificial sentences has been explored in studies on speech intelligibility in English for the past 4 yr. Each alternative sentence was constructed as an approximation to a real sentence by selecting each successive word on the basis of the conditional probabilities of word sequences. This method for generating test materials can, in theory, be generalized to any language that is characterized by rules of syntax. This paper describes the development and evaluation of synthetic sentence message sets in the Spanish language. Performance-intensity functions in quiet and in the presence of a competing speech message will be described and compared with similar data for English sentences. The advantages of the synthetic sentences for assessing speech-discrimination scores for hearing-impaired Spanish-speaking listeners will be described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frequently, when recorded test lists are used in intelligibility testing of communication equipment, only a very few speakers are used to provide the source material, in contrast with the relatively large number of listeners employed. Our studies have shown that such a small number of speakers as two or three is not sufficient to provide a fair evaluation in all cases. Particularly, in evaluating 'speaker-sensitive' equipment, some extraordinary differences among speakers have been found. Thus, it is easy to see how such equipment might be unfairly biased by the use of a small number of speakers, all of whom happened to be not well suited to it. One cannot, how, use large numbers of speakers speaking all test lists since the amount of source material would be prohibitive. A solution is to rotate a large number of speakers within each test list so that each list provides a sampling of all the the speakers used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]