Abstract
This article describes research investigating the on-line processing of language in unscripted conversational settings. In particular, we focus on the process of formulating and interpreting definite referring expressions. Within this domain we present results of two eye-tracking experiments addressing the problem of how speakers interrogate the referential domain in preparation to speak, how they select an appropriate expression for a given referent, and how addressees interpret these expressions. We aim to demonstrate that it is possible, and indeed fruitful, to examine unscripted, conversational language using modified experimental designs and standard hypothesis testing procedures.
Highlights
A divide has existed in the linguistic and psycholinguistic literatures between studies of conversation and investigations of language processing
In this unscripted communication task, we observed that the relationship between the referential domain and referential form depended on the type of modification the speaker used
Why did speakers choose to use a color or number modifier without considering the referential domain? Clearly, speakers in everyday conversation do not modify all noun phrases with color and number modifiers
Summary
A divide has existed in the linguistic and psycholinguistic literatures between studies of conversation and investigations of language processing. Early psycholinguistic processing techniques, such as analyses of lexical decision times or reading times, Information 2011, 2 often required metalinguistic judgments or used repetitious, pre-scripted materials—approaches that do not readily afford the study of language use in conversation. The selection of these techniques was justified by processing models that proposed that the efficiency of language processing is due, in part, to the encapsulation of syntactic processes from other sources of information, such as the discourse context ([6], see discussion in [3]). Techniques such as the referential communication task [8] and the analysis of unscripted conversations
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