Frames of Reference and Antecedentless Anaphora in Spanish Conversation

Area of Science:

• Linguistics
• Cognitive Science
• Psycholinguistics

Background:

• Anaphoric pronouns and null subjects are typically linked to preceding mentions (antecedents).
• Gundel et al.'s proposal links cognitive status 'in focus' to minimal referring expressions like unstressed pronouns and zeros.
• The study investigates how these elements are used without explicit antecedents in Spanish.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the use of anaphoric pronouns and null subjects in Spanish conversational discourse without coreferential antecedents.
• To evaluate Gundel et al.'s proposal regarding cognitive status and minimal referring expressions.
• To understand the mechanisms licensing and disambiguating antecedentless anaphoric relations.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of naturally occurring Spanish conversational discourse.
• Examination of the felicitous use and interpretation of non-canonical anaphoric pronouns and null subjects.
• Investigation of the role of shared cognitive frames and "neighborhood antecedents".

Main Results:

• Antecedentless anaphoric pronouns and null subjects are felicitously used and interpreted in Spanish conversation.
• The activation of shared cognitive frames licenses and disambiguates these non-canonical anaphoric relations.
• "Neighborhood antecedents" and contextually inferred information also play a role.

Conclusions:

• Shared cognitive frames and contextual information are crucial for understanding anaphora without explicit antecedents in Spanish.
• Gundel et al.'s proposal is supported in that minimal expressions are used when referents are highly salient.
• Linguistic anaphora is dynamically constrained by cognitive and contextual factors beyond simple co-reference.