12 | Making connections Flashcards
Inferences
The ability to understand more than the surface meaning of sentences
Man:
“Which platform for the next train to Palmerston North?”
Ticket agent:
“Platform 2, but it’s a stopping train. The 1:45 train will get you there sooner.”
The ticket agent assumes that the man wants to take the fastest train and gives additional information even though the man didn’t ask for it.
Anaphora and Antecedent
Word or phrase that makes a reference to material that has appeared earlier in the text(This earlier material is the antecedent).
Coherence
The way which sentences or phrases belong together in terms of their meaning
- Consistency between the events or states in series of
sentences
Cohesion
The way which sentences or phrases belong together in terms of grammatical devices used to make the links between them
- Making the appropriate links between the words and
phases in a text
Bridging inference
Connection made by the reader or listener between an anaphor and a non-explicit antecedent
Ex.:
Mary unpacked the beer. The beer was warm.
vs.
Mary unpacked the picnic supplies. The beer was warm.
Which is quicker to prosses: Instances vs. categories?
Processing instances is quicker
Instance as antecedent, category as an anaphor is quicker
But not always: additional information can be used
Accented
Words that are spoken strongly, with some degree of stress
New info - often accented
Old info - often unaccented
Pseudogap
A location where a filler could be attached, but which is in fact not an appropriate point of attachment
Gap as first resort
Postulate the gap at the earliest possible position
Gap as last resort
Delay postulating the gap as long as possible
Gap based on lexical expectations
Postulate the gap depending on lexical preferences
