ERIC Number: EJ799603
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008-Aug
Pages: 40
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0169-0965
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Available Date: N/A
Interpreting Pronouns and Demonstratives in Finnish: Evidence for a Form-Specific Approach to Reference Resolution
Kaiser, Elsi; Trueswell, John C.
Language and Cognitive Processes, v23 n5 p709-748 Aug 2008
Two Finnish language comprehension experiments are presented which suggest that the referential properties of pronouns and demonstratives cannot be reduced straightforwardly to the salience level of the antecedent. The findings, from a sentence completion study and visual world eye-tracking study, reveal an asymmetry in which features of the antecedent Finnish pronouns and demonstratives are most sensitive to, both in terms of their final interpretations and during real-time processing. In particular, the syntactic role and linear position of the antecedent, two factors which have been claimed to influence referent salience, have different effects on the interpretation of pronouns and demonstratives. Contrary to what is commonly assumed, pronouns and demonstratives cannot be mapped onto a unified salience hierarchy, because they exhibit different degrees of sensitivity to syntactic role and word order. We offer an alternative approach to anaphor resolution, the form-specific multiple-constraints approach. (Contains 1 table, 6 figures, and 14 footnotes.)
Descriptors: Comprehension, Cognitive Processes, Word Order, Finno Ugric Languages, Form Classes (Languages), Syntax, Eye Movements, Structural Analysis (Linguistics), Language Research
Psychology Press. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
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Language: English
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