Asymmetries between Language Production and Comprehension

• Offers the first unified explanation of several asymmetries between language production and language comprehension
• Asserts that grammar is shaped by the competition between the speaker’s perspective and the hearer’s perspective
• Combines insights in theoretical linguistics, psycholinguistics and computational modeling on the organization, use and acquisition of language

This book asserts that language is a signaling system rather than a code, based in part on such research as the finding that 5-year-old English and Dutch children use pronouns correctly in their own utterances, but often fail to interpret these forms correctly when used by someone else.

Emphasizing the unique and sometimes competing demands of listener and speaker, the author examines resulting asymmetries between production and comprehension. The text offers examples of the interpretation of word order and pronouns by listeners, and word order freezing and referential choice by speakers. It is explored why the usual symmetry breaks down in children but also sometimes in adults.

Gathering contemporary insights from theoretical linguistic research, psycholinguistic studies and computational modeling, Asymmetries between Language Production and Comprehension presents a unified explanation of this phenomenon.