Linguistics 5702: Cognitive Models of Language

Prerequisites: LING2000 or LING2000H or LING3701 or LING3701H or any linguistics course 4000 or above, or graduate standing.

Instructor: William Schuler

• Office: Oxley 101A

• Email: (my last name).77@osu.edu

• Office hours: Wednesday 2pm--3pm and Friday 3pm--4pm in the class Zoom room (using the link in the Carmen site) or by appointment (just email me)

Web site: https://www.asc.ohio-state.edu/schuler.77/courses/5702/index.html. The updated syllabus, assignments, slides, etc. will be posted here, so check it regularly.

Textbook (optional): "Language in Mind: An introduction to Psycholinguistics," Julie Sedivy. Sinauer Associates, 2014. ISBN 978-0-87-893598-7.

Course Content:

Wk	Assignments/readings for Monday	Lecture: Tuesday	Assignments/readings for Wednesday	Lecture: Thursday
1	1/6 videos: probability, conditional probability	1/7 handout: PS1 overview, background, probability	1/8 videos: decision theory, predicates, quantifiers, lambda calculus	1/9 language and thought
2		1/14 (continued)		1/16 background: neural activation
3	1/20 PS1 due tutorial: matrix multiplication	1/21 handout: PS2 background: associative memory	1/22 video: Tom Mitchell on distributed representations	1/23 background: complex ideas
4	1/17	1/28 ambiguity and resolution		1/30 syntax
5	2/3 PS2 due	2/4 handout: PS3 (continued)		2/6 compositional semantics
6		2/11 (continued)		2/13 background: hierarchic sequential prediction
7	2/17 PS3 due	2/18 handout: PS4, step-though: sentence processing sentence processing and left-corner parsing		2/20 memory bounds
8	2/24 papers: surprisal and memory	2/25 surprisal	2/26 papers: algorithmic-level surprisal	2/27 (continued)
9	3/3 PS4 due	3/4 handout: PS5 unified surprisal and memory effects	3/5 papers: left-corner surprisal	3/6 structural vs. deep neural surprisal
10	(spring break)	(spring break)	(spring break)	(spring break)
11	3/17 papers: left-corner surprisal in fMRI	3/18 fMRI surprisal and memory effects	3/19 papers: recency bias	3/20 transformers and memory, evidence for statistical learning, learning hierarchic rules
12	3/24	3/25 step-through: grammar induction Bayesian induction experiments	(no class)	(no class)
13	3/31 PS5 due	4/1 handout: PS6 background: generalization (learning)	4/2 papers: statistical grammar induction	4/3 neural induction experiments
14		4/8 semantic grammar induction		4/10 (continued)
15		4/15 learning meaning, models of grounding	4/16 PS6 due, video: alex the parrot, papers: Tomasello	4/17 instinct in learning

Credit hours and work expectations: This is a 3-credit-hour course. According to Ohio State policy, students should expect around 3 hours per week of time spent on direct instruction (instructor content and Carmen activities, for example) in addition to 6 hours of homework (reading and assignment preparation, for example) to receive a grade of (C) average.

Course requirements:

• Regular attendance and active participation (15% of grade): this will include participation in class or live Carmen Zoom meetings, if applicable.
• Completing six problem set assignments (85% of grade) (handed out about a week and a half before they are due, see schedule), handed in through Carmen. Late assignments are only accepted if extensions are requested and granted, and are penalized 20% on a per-question basis, so try to submit as many questions as possible on time.

Faculty feedback and response time:

• Assignments: you can generally expect feedback within 7 days.
• Email: I will reply to e-mails within 24 hours on school days.

Grading scale: OSU standard scheme

A	A-	B+	B	B-	C+	C	C-	D+	D	E
93%+	90%+	87%+	83%+	80%+	77%+	73%+	70%+	67%+	60%+	0%+

Students with disabilities: The university strives to maintain a healthy and accessible environment to support student learning in and out of the classroom. If you anticipate or experience academic barriers based on your disability (including mental health, chronic, or temporary medical conditions), please let me know immediately so that we can privately discuss options. To establish reasonable accommodations, I may request that you register with Student Life Disability Services. After registration, make arrangements with me as soon as possible to discuss your accommodations so that they may be implemented in a timely fashion.

If you are ill and need to miss class, including if you are staying home and away from others while experiencing symptoms of a viral infection or fever, please let me know immediately. In cases where illness interacts with an underlying medical condition, please consult with Student Life Disability Services to request reasonable accommodations. You can connect with them at slds.osu.edu; 614-292-3307; or slds.osu.edu.

Academic misconduct: It is the responsibility of the Committee on Academic Misconduct to investigate or establish procedures for the investigation of all reported cases of student academic misconduct. The term "academic misconduct" includes all forms of student academic misconduct wherever committed; illustrated by, but not limited to, cases of plagiarism and dishonest practices in connection with examinations. Instructors shall report all instances of alleged academic misconduct to the committee (Faculty Rule 3335-5-487). For additional information, see the Code of Student Conduct http://studentlife.osu.edu/csc/.

Mental health services: As a student you may experience a range of issues that can cause barriers to learning, such as strained relationships, increased anxiety, alcohol/drug problems, feeling down, difficulty concentrating and/or lack of motivation. These mental health concerns or stressful events may lead to diminished academic performance or reduce a student’s ability to participate in daily activities. The Ohio State University offers services to assist you with addressing these and other concerns you may be experiencing. If you or someone you know are suffering from any of the aforementioned conditions, you can learn more about the broad range of confidential mental health services available on campus via the Office of Student Life’s Counseling and Consultation Service (CCS) by visiting ccs.osu.edu or calling 614- 292-5766. CCS is located on the 4th floor of the Younkin Success Center and the 10th floor of Lincoln Tower. You can reach an on-call counselor when CCS is closed at 614-292-5766 and 24 hour emergency help is also available 24/7 by dialing 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

Religious accommodations: Ohio State has had a longstanding practice of making reasonable academic accommodations for students' religious beliefs and practices in accordance with applicable law. In 2023, Ohio State updated its practice to align with new state legislation. Under this new provision, students must be in early communication with their instructors regarding any known accommodation requests for religious beliefs and practices, providing notice of specific dates for which they request alternative accommodations within 14 days after the first instructional day of the course. Instructors in turn shall not question the sincerity of a student's religious or spiritual belief system in reviewing such requests and shall keep requests for accommodations confidential.

With sufficient notice, instructors will provide students with reasonable alternative accommodations with regard to examinations and other academic requirements with respect to students' sincerely held religious beliefs and practices by allowing up to three absences each semester for the student to attend or participate in religious activities. Examples of religious accommodations can include, but are not limited to, rescheduling an exam, altering the time of a student's presentation, allowing make-up assignments to substitute for missed class work, or flexibility in due dates or research responsibilities. If concerns arise about a requested accommodation, instructors are to consult their tenure initiating unit head for assistance.

A student's request for time off shall be provided if the student's sincerely held religious belief or practice severely affects the student's ability to take an exam or meet an academic requirement and the student has notified their instructor, in writing during the first 14 days after the course begins, of the date of each absence. Although students are required to provide notice within the first 14 days after a course begins, instructors are strongly encouraged to work with the student to provide a reasonable accommodation if a request is made outside the notice period. A student may not be penalized for an absence approved under this policy.

If students have questions or disputes related to academic accommodations, they should contact their course instructor, and then their department or college office. For questions or to report discrimination or harassment based on religion, individuals should contact the Office of Institutional Equity. (Policy: Religious Holidays, Holy Days and Observances)