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Chapter 12. Interpreting antecedentless pronouns in narrative texts

Knowledge types, world building and inference-making
  • Catherine Emmott
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The Pragmatics of Personal Pronouns
This chapter is in the book The Pragmatics of Personal Pronouns

Abstract

Antecedentless pronouns provide a key to understanding the cognitive processing of texts, since, in the absence of antecedents, interpretation of these pronouns relies on inference-making based on general knowledge and/or text-specific knowledge (e.g. Yule 1982; Sanford et al. 1983; Gerrig 1986; Greene et al. 1994; Cornish 1996, 1999; Wales 1996; Emmott 1997, 1999; Gundel et al. 2005; Sanford et al. 2008; Gerrig et al. 2011). I examine examples of antecedentless pronouns in narratives and argue that interpretation depends on many factors, including scenario-mapping (Sanford & Garrod 1981, 1998; also Sanford & Emmott 2012) and world-building processes such as entity-linking, perspective-tracking and contextual monitoring (Emmott 1997). I also discuss the implications for anaphoric theory of knowledge-based approaches to pronoun interpretation.

Abstract

Antecedentless pronouns provide a key to understanding the cognitive processing of texts, since, in the absence of antecedents, interpretation of these pronouns relies on inference-making based on general knowledge and/or text-specific knowledge (e.g. Yule 1982; Sanford et al. 1983; Gerrig 1986; Greene et al. 1994; Cornish 1996, 1999; Wales 1996; Emmott 1997, 1999; Gundel et al. 2005; Sanford et al. 2008; Gerrig et al. 2011). I examine examples of antecedentless pronouns in narratives and argue that interpretation depends on many factors, including scenario-mapping (Sanford & Garrod 1981, 1998; also Sanford & Emmott 2012) and world-building processes such as entity-linking, perspective-tracking and contextual monitoring (Emmott 1997). I also discuss the implications for anaphoric theory of knowledge-based approaches to pronoun interpretation.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Chapter 1. Personal pronouns 1
  4. PART I. Personal pronouns beyond syntax: Competing forms in context
  5. Chapter 2. She said “I don’t like her and her don’t like me” 27
  6. Chapter 3. Free self-forms in discourse-pragmatic functions 45
  7. Chapter 4. Sex-indefinite references to human beings in American English 69
  8. PART II. First and second person pronouns across genres: Advertising, TV series and literature
  9. Chapter 5. ‘ Loquor, ergo sum’ 95
  10. Chapter 6. ‘You’ and ‘I’ in charity fundraising appeals 105
  11. Chapter 7. Breaking the fourth wall 125
  12. Chapter 8. How do person deictics construct roles for the reader? 147
  13. PART III. Referring to the self and the addressee in context of interaction
  14. Chapter 9. First and second person pronouns in two mother-child dyads 173
  15. chapter 10. Pronouns and sociospatial ordering in conversation and fiction 195
  16. Chapter 11. Referring to oneself in the third person 215
  17. PART IV. The pragmatics of impersonal and antecedentless pronouns
  18. Chapter 12. Interpreting antecedentless pronouns in narrative texts 241
  19. Chapter 13. The infinite present 259
  20. Chapter 14. Pragmatic and stylistic uses of personal pronoun one 275
  21. Chapter 15. Impersonal uses of the second person singular and generalized empathy 311
  22. Index 335
https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.171.12emm

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Chapter 1. Personal pronouns 1
  4. PART I. Personal pronouns beyond syntax: Competing forms in context
  5. Chapter 2. She said “I don’t like her and her don’t like me” 27
  6. Chapter 3. Free self-forms in discourse-pragmatic functions 45
  7. Chapter 4. Sex-indefinite references to human beings in American English 69
  8. PART II. First and second person pronouns across genres: Advertising, TV series and literature
  9. Chapter 5. ‘ Loquor, ergo sum’ 95
  10. Chapter 6. ‘You’ and ‘I’ in charity fundraising appeals 105
  11. Chapter 7. Breaking the fourth wall 125
  12. Chapter 8. How do person deictics construct roles for the reader? 147
  13. PART III. Referring to the self and the addressee in context of interaction
  14. Chapter 9. First and second person pronouns in two mother-child dyads 173
  15. chapter 10. Pronouns and sociospatial ordering in conversation and fiction 195
  16. Chapter 11. Referring to oneself in the third person 215
  17. PART IV. The pragmatics of impersonal and antecedentless pronouns
  18. Chapter 12. Interpreting antecedentless pronouns in narrative texts 241
  19. Chapter 13. The infinite present 259
  20. Chapter 14. Pragmatic and stylistic uses of personal pronoun one 275
  21. Chapter 15. Impersonal uses of the second person singular and generalized empathy 311
  22. Index 335
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