Objective
Although homo sapiens has been endowed with language for over 50,000 years, the invention of alphabet-like scripts 3,000 years ago dominates Western linguistic thinking. Training in literacy starts in early childhood, and because of this, words and letter-like sound units can naturally seem to be the building blocks of language. The Chinese writing system highlights the cultural-specificity of this approach: characters are juxtaposed without intervening spaces, and their interpretation is highly context-dependent. Words are not singled out. And although more frequent characters contain parts indicating pronunciation, it is syllables that are referred to, not letter-like sound units.
The research proposed here seeks to break the hold that the alphabet-centric approach has on our understanding of language by exploring the idea that instead of being phone and word-based, languages use low-level properties of the acoustic signal to directly reduce uncertainty about the messages encoded in the speech signal. My work with wide learning networks (two-layer networks with many thousands of units, using the simplest possible error-driven learning rule) provides remarkable support for this suggestion: For reading and speech comprehension, their performance closely matches both the strengths and the weaknesses of human processing. Especially at a time when machine learning and artificial intelligence are moving beyond human capacity, it is a methodological imperative to study and work with algorithms reflecting both the advantages and disadvantages of human learning.
I am requesting funding to take this radically novel research program to the next level by further developing our account of auditory comprehension, by modeling more typologically diverse languages, by extending this approach to speech production, and by developing a discrimination-based language theory.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences computer and information sciences data science natural language processing
- social sciences sociology social issues social inequalities
- natural sciences computer and information sciences artificial intelligence machine learning deep learning
- natural sciences mathematics
- social sciences psychology psycholinguistics
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
ERC-ADG - Advanced Grant
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2016-ADG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
72074 Tuebingen
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.