The Contribution of Form Repetition to Listeners’ Expectation of Givenness in Online Reference Resolution

Bibliographic Data

ID11273077
AuthorsEun-Kyung Lee (0000-0003-3376-3517, Yonsei University, corresponding author), Tuan Q Lam (Loyola University New Orleans), Duane G Watson (0000-0001-7191-4238, Vanderbilt University)
Year2021
Volume58
Issue9
Pages820-836
Publication date2021-10-21
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueDiscourse Processes (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0163-853X • E-ISSN: 1532-6950
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/0163853x.2021.1954831
PMID34898762
OpenAlexW3189373560
LanguageEN
References cited22

Although it is clear that unaccented referring expressions are associated with given information in a discourse (Dahan et al., 2002), it is less clear what aspects of givenness are relevant. We examine whether listeners' expectation of givenness depends on repetition of a referring expression or on contextual evocation of a referent. The results from two visual world eye-tracking experiments suggest that for interpretation, listeners associated reduced prominence with a repeated referring expression. Listeners expect previously evoked referents to be candidates for reduced referring expressions only when they are referred to with the exact same referential form. The data also suggest that when referents are referred to with different referential forms across utterances, accenting facilitates linking those forms for co-reference

Cognitive psychology · Expression (computer science · Interpretation (philosophy · Linguistics · Referent · Repetition (rhetorical device · Resolution (logic · Computer Science · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition · Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism · Psychology · Speech and dialogue systems · Artificial Intelligence

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