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______________________________________________________________________ The "Zeitschrift für
Semiotik": Abstracts ______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________ Wilhelm R. Glaser Arnold Groh Stefanie Kelter and Christopher Habel Eva Kimminich Winfried Lenders Walter F. Sendlmeier Thomas H. Stoffer Hubert D. Zimmer Neurobiological basics of linguistic representation Angela D. Friederici, Max-Planck-Institute for Neuropsychological Research Leipzig Summary. This paper presents the relation between language and its representation in
the adult and the developing brain. The adult brain is shown to require a distinction
between, on the one hand, the representation of language knowledge and, on the other hand,
language procedures. Date in support of this distinction are presented. Furthermore,
results are discussed which suggest that this functional organization of language only
develops as the brain matures. The combined data lead to the hypothesis that the process
of language development is accompanied by a functional reorganization of language
representation in the brain. Wilhelm R. Glaser, University of Tübingen Summary. First, the relevance of the concept of representation for cognitive psychology
is pointed out. Its roots in semiotics and its relations to the concept of information are
elaborated. Following this, some fundamental principles of digital computers are
described: use of algorithms, programming, Turing-computability and the hierarchical
structuring of software systems. The distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic
representation, which is an important distinction for psychology, is introduced. It allows
for a systematic characterization of the analogue computer. The relationship between
representation in the sense of psychology and consciousness is discussed with respect to
the mind-body problem. Finally, some philosophical objections against the program of
cognitive science are critically examined. Arnold Groh, University of Bielefeld Summary. Asymmetrical control areas in a continuous visual search were examined in two
experiments. Two mechanisms for target detection were identified – one operating in
the center of the visual field engaged with processes requiring a high level of
resolution; the other operating in the periphery, performing detection processes requiring
a low level of resolution. A functional model is outlined that interprets the findings in
terms of hemispheric mechanisms. Mental representations of facts in text comprehension Stefanie Kelter and Christopher Habel, Technical University Berlin and University of Hamburg Summary. After a brief summary of the claims which the theory of mental models
(Johnson-Laird 1983) makes with regard to text comprehension, the primary objective and
the main results of past research in this field are described and new questions are asked
which arise directly from this. Then two problems are discussed that have received little
attention so far in research on mental models in text comprehension, although they are
highly important for this research: first, the relationship between text comprehension and
non-verbal cognition, and second, the mental representation of non-spatial aspects of
textually presented situations. "Natural phonetic and tone languages" – A special case of 17th century universal language planning Eva Kimminich, University of Freiburg Summary. This paper deals with a subgroup a aprioristic artificial languages of the
17th century. It points out the reasons for the emergence and elaboration of universal
languages and classifies the numerous proposals of rationally constructed languages in
that period into sign language, phonetic language, tone language and utopian language
models.The intention of creating a quickly learnable universal idiom promised advantages
for the work of Christian missionaries. They, in return, provided important conceptual
suggestions for the construction of artificial languages. The confrontation of early
European language researchers with the spectrum of phonetic alternations in the Chinese
language and the possibilities offered by logograms in the Chinese writing system was an
important stimulation in the search for the best of all possible languages. This search
also led to the elaboration of the special phonetic and tone languages presented in this
paper. They were based on the conception of a truly natural language with the rationally
inexplicable expressive capacity of the Adamitic idiom that had already been the target of
research in previous centuries. Virtual worlds as representations Winfried Lenders, University of Bonn Summary. In recent years, computer sciences as well as computer and game industries
have developed a new generation of simulation systems that are claimed to produce virtual
realities or virtual worlds. In this paper, the use of such concepts is analyzed from a
critical point of view. Since the systems in question are said to construct realities in
which humans can act as if in the real world, problems of semiotics, ontology,
epistemology as well as of the theory of narratives have to be discussed. In this
discussion, it becomes obvious that there is a long tradition in the history of human
thought concerning the form of existence of virtual worlds and that the treatment of
virtual worlds in the arts must be taken into account. Mental representation of volume language Walter F. Sendlmeier, Technical University Berlin Summary. Four experimental approaches frequently used in speech perception research are
discussed in respect to their impact for word recognition models and their implicit
assumptions on the mental representation of speech. These approaches are (1) reaction-time
experiments, (2) the procedure of click-localization, (3) the method of selective
adaptation and (4) the assessment of word similarities. The results of the studies vary,
depending on the experimental procedure chosen. Phonetic features, single sounds,
syllables and words are alternatively favored as primary perceptual units. A critical
evaluation and an attempt to theoretically integrate the data lead to the assumption that
adult speakers/listeners have several kinds of mental representations of speech at their
disposal simultaneously. Depending on the focus of perception, units of different sizes
are primarily focused in the recognition process. This implies that their listeners are
able to modify their temporal analysis window to a certain extent. Nonetheless, as the
default case, one-syllable-size units are primarily focused. Mental representation of musical structures Thomas H. Stoffer, University of Munich Summary. This paper deals with the functions which the semiotics of music may have in
developing a cognitive psychological model of music-related mental representations. First,
the methodological contribution of semiotics is considered, which consists in elaborating
suitable procedures of analysis for the structures of music; intended is an explicit and
formal account of the syntactic structures of music in a manner which is both
descriptively and cognitively adequate. Then the theoretical contribution is examined
which such a syntactic account of music can offer in generating plausible hypotheses about
the content and form of musical knowledge; intended is a cognitive psychological model for
the processing of musical structures in hearing and in performing music. After an
introduction to some semiotic elements of music analysis the problem of the cognitive
adequacy of syntactic descriptions of music is discussed in detail. Mental representation of visual signs: information-specific processing modules Hubert D. Zimmer, University of the Saarland Summary. This article discusses empirical results from cognitive psychology and
neuropsychology which show that the mental processing of visual signs can be adequately
modeled on the basis of multiple modules, each of which is responsible for a specific type
of information. For spatial information it is demonstrated that its mental representation
is neither homogeneous nor fully analogous with the physical input. For sensory
information it is argued that its sensory representation should be distinguished from its
conceptual representation and that physically coherent features can be represented in
separate mental domains. Finally, arguments are presented in favor of the occurence of
modality-specific object representation. In addition, it is pointed out that mental
representations inferred from the sign behavior of a person can be different from those
representations that are accessible to that person by conscious experience. As a result,
the existence of information in a mental system must be distinguished from the
system’s awareness of it. |
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