Donna K. Byron, Sarah Brown-Schmidt, and Michael K. Tanenhaus
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195331639
- eISBN:
- 9780199867981
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195331639.003.0007
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Semantics and Pragmatics
This chapter explores pragmatic distinctions between personal pronouns such as ‘it’ and demonstrative pronouns such as ‘that’ in English. These two categories of pronoun are typically employed in ...
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This chapter explores pragmatic distinctions between personal pronouns such as ‘it’ and demonstrative pronouns such as ‘that’ in English. These two categories of pronoun are typically employed in contexts that vary based on how attentionally prominent the pronoun's referent is; however, many authors have observed that they are occasionally used by speakers in contexts where the other pronoun would have been predicted. This chapter analyzes such cases using data from two studies, and concludes that the attentional salience is only one of a set of factors that comes into play when a speaker chooses which pronominal form to employ. Conceptual structures used by the addressee in interpretation can override the normal implication of salience signaled by the pronoun's category.Less
This chapter explores pragmatic distinctions between personal pronouns such as ‘it’ and demonstrative pronouns such as ‘that’ in English. These two categories of pronoun are typically employed in contexts that vary based on how attentionally prominent the pronoun's referent is; however, many authors have observed that they are occasionally used by speakers in contexts where the other pronoun would have been predicted. This chapter analyzes such cases using data from two studies, and concludes that the attentional salience is only one of a set of factors that comes into play when a speaker chooses which pronominal form to employ. Conceptual structures used by the addressee in interpretation can override the normal implication of salience signaled by the pronoun's category.
J. Rijkhoff
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198237822
- eISBN:
- 9780191706776
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198237822.003.0006
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Semantics and Pragmatics
This chapter is concerned with the third major modifier category in the noun phrase (NP), localising operators and localising satellites, which relate to locative properties of the referent of the ...
More
This chapter is concerned with the third major modifier category in the noun phrase (NP), localising operators and localising satellites, which relate to locative properties of the referent of the matrix NP. Examples of localising operators in NP are demonstrative pronouns and (in)definite articles, while examples of localising satellites are (localising/identifying) relative clause, possessive modifier, and locative modifier. Each of these constituents typically indicates that the referent of an NP has a place in the world of discourse (or that this place can be inferred). The grammatical expression of the notion location in the NP is discussed by focusing on demonstratives and articles, along with possessive modifiers, adpositional modifiers, and relative clauses.Less
This chapter is concerned with the third major modifier category in the noun phrase (NP), localising operators and localising satellites, which relate to locative properties of the referent of the matrix NP. Examples of localising operators in NP are demonstrative pronouns and (in)definite articles, while examples of localising satellites are (localising/identifying) relative clause, possessive modifier, and locative modifier. Each of these constituents typically indicates that the referent of an NP has a place in the world of discourse (or that this place can be inferred). The grammatical expression of the notion location in the NP is discussed by focusing on demonstratives and articles, along with possessive modifiers, adpositional modifiers, and relative clauses.
