Year-end Sale % OFF 
Abstract
The relationship between focus and new information has been unclear despite being the subject of several information structure studies. Here, we report an eye-tracking experiment that explored the relationship between them in on-line discourse processing in Chinese reading. Focus was marked by the Chinese focus-particle “shi", which is equivalent to the cleft structure “it was… who…" in English. New information was defined as the target word that was not present in previous contexts. Our results show that, in the target region, focused information was processed more quickly than non-focused information, while new information was processed more slowly than given information. These results reveal differences in processing patterns between focus and newness, and suggest that they are different concepts that relate to different aspects of cognitive processing. In addition, the effect of new/given information occurred in the post-target region for the focus condition, but not for the non-focus condition, suggesting a complex relationship between focus and newness in the discourse integration stage.
Highlights
Information structure describes the manner in which information is packaged in a sentence, and is constrained by the context and the intention of information transfer
Target Region For first fixation duration, focused information took less time to read than non-focused information [F1(1,31) = 4.72, MSe = 7518, p,.05; F2(1,47) = 9.64, MSe = 14060, p,.01], while new information took longer to read than given information [F1 (1,31) = 9.78, MSe = 9574, p,.01; F2(1,47) = 13.61, MSe = 17499, p = .001]
There was no significant interaction between focus and newness. These results indicated that the processing pattern of new information was quite different from that of focused information
Summary
Information structure describes the manner in which information is packaged in a sentence, and is constrained by the context and the intention of information transfer. It is often specified by various dichotomies, such as background vs focus, given vs new information, and theme vs rheme. These dichotomies have different connotations, they often overlap in meaning. Between background and focus, focus is often related to new information while background is not [1,2]. The present study explores this issue in on-line discourse processing by observing the eye movements of readers
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
