ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses conceptualization and the subtasks that must be performed by a conceptualizer in order to generate online descriptions of events. These subtasks constitute inC’s major division of labor. The book presents a general account of incremental processing by discussing relevant literature, providing a blueprint of incremental models, and describing the dimensions along which incremental models can vary. It explores the issue of the representations needed for incremental processing and describes how underspecification formalisms can be used for incremental processing. Focusing on the data-drivenness emphasizes the need for incremental processing: As soon as a new piece of information is available, it is processed with respect to the conceptual representation. The attribute incremental means that conceptualization and its subtasks are performed in a piecemeal and parallel fashion.
