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The Italian adverbial clitics vi and ci , both routinely glossed ‘there,’ are not synonymous but instead are signals of opposing meanings in a grammatical system of Restrictedness of Space. Vi means more Restricted, and ci means less Restricted. Operating at the discourse level, the two meanings function to direct attention onto the relevant conceptual space for each event in a narrative. Conceptual space includes physical places, subject matter complements, and realms of existential constructions. The semantic hypothesis accounts both for quantitative patterns observed in stretches of discourse and for the respective interpretive effects of the two clitics and for their absence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We investigated the role of discourse context in relative clause processing. We first replicated finding that pronominal object relative clauses are easier to process than analogous subject relative clauses (an effect which stands in contrast to previous research on pronominal relative clauses). We then analyzed corpus data to demonstrate that the embedded noun phrase in object relative clauses nearly always has a discourse-old referent, even if the noun phrase is not pronominal, while the referent of the embedded noun phrase in subject relative clauses is typically discourse-new. We then extended the work of , by demonstrating in region-by-region reading that full noun phrase object relative clauses are not more difficult to process than subject relatives when they are preceded by appropriate discourse contexts. Finally, we reanalyzed data from the Dundee Eye-tracking corpus to show that contra , naturally occurring object relatives are no harder to process than subject relatives. We conclude that the processing difficulties associated with object as compared to subject relative clauses arises because object relative clauses violate more discourse expectations in typical experimental contexts. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Basic Communicative Spaces Network (BCSN –) accounts for crucial semantic–pragmatic characteristics of causal relations expressed by frequently used Dutch causal connectives. BCSN integrates subjectivity theory, domain theory, and mental spaces theory to explain their linguistic categorization. Starting with the original three-way classification of content, epistemic, and speech act use, BCSN represents different uses in separate but connected and embedded mental spaces that are linked to the Subject of Consciousness (SoC), who is present as an actor or concluder in many causal relations. The analytic structure of BCSN explains the contrasts between the backward Dutch causal connectives WANT ‘because/for/since’, signaling speech act and epistemic relations in which the speaker is the implicit SoC, and OMDAT ‘because (of the fact that)’, typically expressing content relations with an explicit SoC. This division of labor corresponds to a cognitive categorization in terms of BCSN. On a more general level, BCSN offers a model for the recursive patterning that characterizes perspective alternation in natural discourse, since the BCSN represents both the author''s subjectivity and the subjectivity of other actors in the discourse (such as speakers and characters in a narration), as well as the blends between these perspectives. The analysis is illustrated with corpus examples. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: When non-native speakers are required to produce lengthy discourse in the form of a short monologue or extended turn, there is a greater burden on them to package the utterances into a ‘tighter’ more coherent discourse for the listener. Under these conditions, miscues in specificity and consistency at the semantic level, and relevance at the pragmatic level often accumulate and interact leading to a discourse which can be perceived by the listener as difficult to follow or lacking in coherence. This study analyzes non-native extended discourse produced under such conditions to investigate the nature of these miscues and how they interact with each other at the discourse level. A manipulation experiment was used to test for the psycholinguistic reality of the miscues; an important procedure in discourse analysis if we are to speak with confidence of the validity of the miscues identified on paper. The experiment used a novel technique which allowed for the modification and insertion of features into the spoken discourse as well as their removal. The manipulated discourse was then rated for improvements in coherence against the original sample by a panel of native listeners. Results suggest that these miscues do indeed significantly impair the coherence of the discourse. The patterns of impairment and interaction are discussed in detail. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In languages like English or German, definite and indefinite markers serve to distinguish given/old from new information in the discourse model. Japanese, in contrast, lacks definiteness markers, but has a topic marker. The present paper examines how the information status of a noun phrase (NP) in Japanese is represented and integrated into the discourse model. An ERP experiment investigated the processing of topic-marked and non-topic-marked NPs following three different context sentences (making available a given, inferred, or new reading). The results revealed an increase in the N400 as a function of contextual cueing, i.e. the less accessible a referential expression is in the discourse model (i.e. given, inferred, new referent), the more pronounced is the amplitude of the N400. In addition, a late positivity was observed for topic shift, i.e. when topic-marked NPs occurred after contexts in which they were not already the established topic. Crucially, topic shift was facilitated by a particular semantic relation. Since acceptability ratings cannot account for the observed pattern, the positivity is considered to reflect costs from the establishment of a new discourse topic. From a cross-linguistic perspective, the data reveal that contextual cues universally influence discourse integration (N400), while processes subserving the updating of discourse structure (e.g., topic shift) differ across languages (late positivity): Discourse updating is guided by the given-new distinction in German and by topicality in Japanese (at least in canonical word order). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Natural disasters, such as what are known in English as 'floods' and 'wildfires', are increasingly a topic of concern due to the climate emergency, and their vocabulary and public discourses hold much to be explored through linguistics. This article inaugurates the examination of public discourse about extreme weather events through semantically-enhanced discourse studies, an approach which is based on Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) and developed herein. Taking the example of floods in the particular geographic, cultural and historical environment of the Australian state of Queensland in 2011, this transtextual study draws on a public inquiry into the event and English as spoken in Australia, more broadly, along with media reports, and literature from humanities and social sciences. Five case studies of vocabulary and discourse patterns are presented to cast cultural and semantic spotlights on the public discourses. It is demonstrated that this approach can provide high resolution analysis of discourse and bring out cultural and historical factors at play in extreme weather language thereby contributing to disaster linguistics, climate change semantics and public discourse studies. • The meanings of words for natural disasters and extreme weather events, like flood , are culturally constructed. • Discourse of 2011 Queensland floods reveal geographic, cultural and historical aspects of English spoken in Australia. • Semantically-enhanced discourse studies is a novel method of public discourse studies based on NSM approach. • Semantically-enhanced discourse studies can provide high resolution analysis of vocabulary and discourse patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]