Processing cataphoric they amidst pronominal innovation

Bibliographic Data

ID5708420
AuthorsSteven Foley (0000-0003-2061-2488, University of Southern California, corresponding author), Byron Ahn (0000-0002-5204-6161, Princeton University)
Year2024
Volume8
Issue3
Pages289-308
Publication date2024-12-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Cultural Cognitive Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2520-100X • E-ISSN: 2520-1018
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/s41809-024-00153-7
OpenAlexW4404463568
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited42

When they encounter a cataphoric pronoun during real-time sentence processing, the comprehender begins searching actively for a feature-matched noun that can supply its reference. The present study investigates individual variation in this active search procedure, leveraging an ongoing change in the pronoun system of North American English. The types of referents compatible with the they-series of pronouns is expanding, with an increasing number of speakers allowing definite singular referents: especially but not exclusively when referring to someone with a nonbinary gender identity. Sociolinguistic work shows that the speakers who most accept innovative usages of singular they tend to be younger, or to be non-cisgender (e.g. transgender, nonbinary). Recruiting participants representing diverse ages and gender identities, the present experiment tracked reading times of sentences involving cataphora. Results shows that cataphoric they is processed differently than cataphoric s/he, across the board. There is a significant processing cost to reading a plural noun that follows cataphoric s/he, indicating that singular cataphors evoke strong number expectations. However, the cost of reading a singular noun after they is smaller and emerges later; they seems to evoke weak number expectations. Individual differences show that those expectations are especially weak for younger participants, perhaps reflecting a higher baseline familiarity with singular they. On the other hand, course-grained gender identity (cis vs. non-cis) does not seem to be a reliable predictor of how cataphoric they is processed. Integrating insights from sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics, this study offers a novel view into ongoing language change and its manifestation in real-time processing measures

Linguistics · Natural language processing · Computer Science · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition · Linguistic Variation and Morphology · Philosophy · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation

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