ling 124; mini paper

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Linguistics

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Oct 30, 2023

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1 Du Bois Ling 124 13 February 2023 Reference and Accessibility Intro: After analyzing show two and three we have learned that “decisions about referential forms stem from both discourse and cognitive resources” (Arnold 197.) Discourse and cognitive resources affect the speakers accessibility and identifiability. Identifiable referents give the quality of being identified between the speaker and listener, while accessible referents refers to the amount of cognitive effort it takes to think of something. Today we will examine the key differences between the affects accessibility and identifiability have on discourse as we use light and heavy forms as an example. Findings/analysis: In order to achieve successful conversations, the speaker and listener (addressee) must be able to understand each others’ referential expressions. The process is achieved through the accessibility of referents. Discourse properties confer accessibility through givenness (already evoked), recency (mentioned recently), and thematic/syntactic prominence (sentence structure.) It does not only refer to its position in discourse properties but how they are accessible to the addressee through topicality, predictability (expectancy), and attention. Topicality refers to the notion that sentences focus on one thing more than the other thus creating the “topic” to be the center of attention. “The idea of topic appears in Centering as what they call the backward-looking center (Cb). This is the referential expression that refers to
2 something from the previous clause, thereby connecting backward with the previous discourse” (Arnold 192.) The Cb becomes the highest ranking entity and those that come after would be Cf which refers to any entity mentioned after the Cb. “Expectancy” refers to the likelihood of a mention in the current utterance while “attention” refers to participants paying attention. Example: Previously they were discussing two girls addressing one as la nina or la muchacha. However, in the new conversation speaker A still refers to the girl as “la muchacha.” Speaker A assumes speaker B has been paying attention to the “topic.” As the topic is “la muchacha” we can see a backward-looking center in play. This is because the “la muchacha” has become the highest ranked entity allowing the listener to follow along. This allows for the referent to be accessible to the listener. Now for Identifiability, it indicates whether or not the referent is identifiable between the speaker and addressee. Speakers use the formal contrast between indefinite and definite noun phrases to express identifiability because “Speakers normally use Definite N.P when they can
3 assume that the addressee can identify the referent…if they assume they cannot then an indefinite N.P will be used” (Laury 403.) A speaker may assume definiteness because of previous mention, presence in the environment, or (in)direct shared knowledge. Identifiability also works to build reference and alter context. We understand there is a socially shared reality because the noun (Sandy) is preceded by definite determiners (“la” “sus”) . The use of determiners; demonstratives, possessives, and articles do not make a noun phrase definite but they are often used to begin definite noun phrases. As speaker A says “la Sandy” and the listener then uses “sus” we see how they are following the same topic without further question of who the conversation pertains to, this indicates they share a common knowledge of “sandy.” In identifiability, referents give the quality of being identified between the speaker and listener, while accessibility refers to the amount of cognitive effort to think of something.
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4 “Definiteness in language is not only an automatic consequence of the contextual factor of identifiability but it also creates dynamic ways to alter context and build reference” (Laury 402) This means that speakers “have facultative control over definiteness” (Du Bois 1980) “that is speakers may divert from the general pattern of marking identifiability, and they do this for their own purposes. Thus, a speaker may, for example, use a definite noun phrase for a referent which is not identifiable to the addressee(s) for purposes of argumentation. In other words, she may present a referent as identifiable, i.e., shared, even if she knows this is not the case, in order to persuade the addressee(s) to adopt his or her views on some topic or issue” (Laury 402.) However, for accessibility, speakers do not have full control because accessibility refers to the process induced by a referents accessibility. For example, If speakers believe it is too difficult for listeners to think of the referent, we deem the accessibility to be low. Low accessibility then tells the speaker to use a long specific phrase, vice versa. Unlike identifiability, speakers' accessibility cannot refer to the purpose of argumentation but rather the end goal of being understood. Accessibility is also affected by cognitive loads such as disfluency, or competition unlike identifiability. Conclusion: In discourse the speakers’ goal is for their referring expression to be understood by the listener. We view how the effects of accessibility on reference production not only rely on discourse properties but also by the non-linguistic representations. While viewing how identifiability tells of the shared knowledge between the participants as it creates new ways to alter context and build further reference. As the two work hand in hand it creates successful discourse.
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6 Works Cited Laury. (2001). Definiteness and Reflexivity: Indexing Socially Shared Experience. Pragmatics : Quarterly Publication of the International Pragmatics Association, 11(4), 401–420. Arnold, Jennifer E. “How Speakers Refer: The Role of Accessibility.” Language and linguistics compass 4.4 (2010): 187–203. Web. ( I could not find the article for Prof. Du bois to cite)
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7 Show 2 reflection: - As I went back I began to mark down where I got points deducted in order to fix them in the mini paper. One thing that I think I improved on was the part where I was told to relate topicality to accessibility. I was able to go back to the article and really understand the relation between the two. By doing so I was able to gain a greater understanding of what referents confer to accessibility allowing me to explain the four concepts and later explain how we as listeners consider them accessible. I was also able to fix the speaker labels which I didn't realize had been cropped, this allows me to continue to double check the organization of my data. Show 3 reflection: - I consider show three to be the one where I had a better understanding but it wasn't until I fixed show two that I was able to relate the concepts a bit better. I also took into consideration the advice of using more reading related work to add into my own thoughts. By using my own thoughts and quotes, I was able to write two pages of notes explaining accessibility and identifiability. I also saw how I missed the example of accessibility which I fixed in this paper or rather discussed a bit better. Lastly, after a second read through I found myself being able to say more about shared knowledge but the section in the assigned reading was tiny.

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