Abstract
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages | 1472-1504 |
| Number of pages | 33 |
| Journal | Language and Cognitive Processes |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue number | 10 |
| Early online date | 24 May 2011 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2011 |
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Keywords
- discourse
- animacy
- reference
- pronoun
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The effects of animacy in the choice of referring expression. / Fukumura, Kumiko; van Gompel, Roger.
In: Language and Cognitive Processes, Vol. 26, No. 10, 2011, p. 1472-1504.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - The effects of animacy in the choice of referring expression
AU - Fukumura, Kumiko
AU - van Gompel, Roger
PY - 2011
Y1 - 2011
N2 - Theories of reference assume that the referent's salience in the discourse context affects the choice between pronouns and definite noun phrases or names. We examined whether and how the referent's inherent properties affect the choice of expressions by investigating animacy. Experiment 1 showed that pronouns were more frequent for animates than inanimates after discourse factors were controlled, and Experiments 2 and 3 showed that the referent's animacy affected pronoun use when the competitor's animacy was counterbalanced, suggesting that the referent's inherent salience has an effect. Furthermore, when the referent was animate, pronouns were less frequent when the competitor was also animate than when it was inanimate, whereas no effect of animacy congruence was found with inanimate referents, suggesting that when the competitor was salient and similar in meaning to the referent, it made the referent's representation less accessible.
AB - Theories of reference assume that the referent's salience in the discourse context affects the choice between pronouns and definite noun phrases or names. We examined whether and how the referent's inherent properties affect the choice of expressions by investigating animacy. Experiment 1 showed that pronouns were more frequent for animates than inanimates after discourse factors were controlled, and Experiments 2 and 3 showed that the referent's animacy affected pronoun use when the competitor's animacy was counterbalanced, suggesting that the referent's inherent salience has an effect. Furthermore, when the referent was animate, pronouns were less frequent when the competitor was also animate than when it was inanimate, whereas no effect of animacy congruence was found with inanimate referents, suggesting that when the competitor was salient and similar in meaning to the referent, it made the referent's representation less accessible.
KW - discourse
KW - animacy
KW - reference
KW - pronoun
U2 - 10.1080/01690965.2010.506444
DO - 10.1080/01690965.2010.506444
M3 - Article
VL - 26
SP - 1472
EP - 1504
JO - Language and Cognitive Processes
T2 - Language and Cognitive Processes
JF - Language and Cognitive Processes
SN - 0169-0965
IS - 10
ER -