ABSTRACT
Accessing Noun-Phrase Antecedents offers a radical shift in the analysis of discourse anaphora, from a purely pragmatic account to a cognitive account, in terms of processing procedures. Mira Ariel defines referring expressions as markers signalling the degree of Accessibility in memory of the antecedent. The notion of Accessibility is explicitly defined, the crucial factors being the Salience of the antecedent, and the Unity between the antecedent and the anaphor.
This analysis yields an astonishing array of new results. The precise distribution of referring expressions in actual discourse is directly predicted. Several universals of anaphoric relations are stated. Thus, although not all languages necessarily have the same markers, and nor do they assign them precisely the same function, Ariel shows that they all obey the same Accessibility marking hierarchy.
This book will be compulsory reading for anyone with an interest in the semantics and pragmatics of referring expressions, in the interaction of semantics and pragmatics, and more generally in the interaction between peripheral and central cognitive systems.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part 1|63 pages
Discourse references
chapter 1|14 pages
Low Accessibility referring expressions
chapter 2|9 pages
Intermediate Accessibility referring expressions
chapter 3|13 pages
High Accessibility Markers
chapter 4|25 pages
The Accessibility scale
part 2|69 pages
Sentence-level anaphora
chapter 5|9 pages
Applying Accessibility theory to sentence-level anaphora
chapter 6|25 pages
Zero subjects
chapter 7|33 pages
Clause-linkage and anaphoric marking
part 3|56 pages
On the interaction of Accessibility with pragmatic and social factors