Anaphoric Pronouns and the Computation of Prominence Profiles

Area of Science:

• Psycholinguistics
• Computational Linguistics
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Anaphoric resolution has been studied focusing on the anaphor itself.
• The dynamic nature of referential candidate prominence during discourse processing remains less understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the dynamic establishment of prominence profiles for anaphoric resolution.
• To examine the influence of prominence-lending features and pronoun type on resolution costs and stability.

Main Methods:

• A self-paced reading study was employed.
• Four types of context sentences introducing two referents were compared.
• German personal and demonstrative pronouns were contrasted downstream.

Main Results:

• Prominence profiles are dynamically established as discourse unfolds.
• The computational cost of prominence profiles depends on the alignment of features like 'left edge', 'agent', and 'subject'.
• Resolution is driven by form-dependent interpretation strength, with demonstrative pronouns showing greater stability than personal pronouns. Subjecthood and agentivity features compete.

Conclusions:

• Prominence profiles are actively constructed during discourse processing.
• Pronoun form significantly impacts resolution stability, independent of prior context.
• Linguistic features like subjecthood and agentivity interact dynamically in establishing referential prominence.