What is the process of grouping words into phrases while reading or hearing a string of words called?

The process of grouping words into phrases while reading or hearing a string of words is known as parsing. Parsing refers to the cognitive operation involved in understanding the syntactic structure of phrases and sentences. As we read or listen to language, our brains instinctively analyze the arrangement of words to derive meaning, identifying how words relate to one another within the context of grammar and sentence structure.

This skill is crucial for comprehension, as it helps us to isolate relevant information and understand relationships between different elements in a sentence. Effective parsing enables listeners and readers to make sense of complex language by breaking it down into manageable parts, distinguishing subjects from verbs, and identifying modifiers and objects.

While the other concepts, such as syntactic priming (which involves the influence of previously encountered sentence structures on subsequent processing), statistical regularities (which refer to the patterns in language that guide prediction in language comprehension), and semantic segmentation (which relates to understanding the meanings of phrases and segments in terms of their contextual significance), contribute to overall language comprehension, none specifically describe the process of structuring and organizing words into phrases quite like parsing does.