Addressees distinguish shared from private information when interpreting questions during interactive conversation

Area of Science:

• Psycholinguistics
• Cognitive Science
• Computational Linguistics

Background:

• Common ground, shared knowledge between interlocutors, is crucial for effective communication.
• Previous research suggests common ground influences language production and comprehension.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how common ground affects the production and interpretation of wh-questions.
• To determine if speakers use wh-questions to probe for listener-specific information.
• To examine how listeners use common ground to interpret wh-questions.

Main Methods:

• Two experiments were conducted involving unscripted conversation and a constrained setting.
• Experiment 1 analyzed spontaneous speech to observe question production and interpretation.
• Experiment 2 replicated interpretation findings in a controlled environment.

Main Results:

• Speakers consistently used wh-questions to inquire about information exclusively known by the addressee.
• Addressees demonstrated sensitivity to this pattern, focusing on private information during interpretation.
• Interpretation findings were successfully replicated in a more constrained experimental setting.

Conclusions:

• Common ground significantly influences early stages of language processing.
• The impact of common ground on language may vary based on sentence type and situational interactivity.
• These findings contribute to understanding the dynamic interplay between shared knowledge and real-time language use.