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Related Concept Videos

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Related Experiment Video

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Measuring the Subjective Value of Risky and Ambiguous Options using Experimental Economics and Functional MRI Methods
13:04

Measuring the Subjective Value of Risky and Ambiguous Options using Experimental Economics and Functional MRI Methods

Published on: September 19, 2012

The communicative function of ambiguity in language.

Steven T Piantadosi1, Harry Tily, Edward Gibson

  • 1Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester, United States. piantado@mit.edu

Cognition
|December 24, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Efficient communication systems are inherently ambiguous, a property that enhances processing ease and reusability of linguistic units. This ambiguity is crucial for overall communicative efficiency in language.

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Area of Science:

  • Information Theory
  • Linguistics
  • Cognitive Science

Background:

  • Ambiguity in language is often viewed as a flaw.
  • Previous research has not fully explored the functional role of ambiguity in communication.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To present an information-theoretic argument for the necessity of ambiguity in efficient communication systems.
  • To explore how ambiguity facilitates language processing and communicative efficiency.
  • To empirically test these predictions across different languages.

Main Methods:

  • Developed a general information-theoretic model.
  • Formulated predictions regarding ambiguity and processing efficiency.
  • Conducted empirical tests using English, German, and Dutch language data.

Main Results:

  • Confirmed that efficient communication systems are inherently ambiguous.
  • Demonstrated that ambiguity aids in the re-use of linguistic units, improving processing.
  • Provided evidence that ambiguity is a functional aspect enhancing communicative efficiency.

Conclusions:

  • Ambiguity is a fundamental and functional property of efficient language systems.
  • This finding challenges theories suggesting linguistic features are not communication-driven.
  • The study supports a view of language as optimized for efficient information transfer.