Retrieval from semantic memory.

The present study has been concerned with the retrieval of semantic information. Retrieving semantic information is a fundamental process in almost any kind of cognitive behavior. The introduction presented the main experimental paradigms and results found in the literature on semantic memory as well as an outline of the most important models. ... Zie: Summary and Conclusions

Epistemic modality and focus in Dutch

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Université catholique de Louvain

The role of temporal segmentation markers in discourse processing

The on-line construction of discourse models

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Discourse functions of NP-anaphora: linguistic and text-analytic form/function analysis of NP-anaphora

This paper presents a functional analysis of nominal anaphors (NAs) in discourse. We survey the area of NP-anaphora starting from the traditional view on anaphoric expressions, according to which NP-anaphors form an accessibility hierarchy and NAs provide anaphoric access to discourse referents with low accessibility. This `identificational view' is then challenged with empirical evidence showing various non-identificational discourse functions of definite, indefinite, and demonstrative NAs. NAs are shown to participate not only in the management of reference, but also in other semantic and pragmatic discourse functions at local and global levels. They express interactive relations between writer and reader, they contribute to the semantic representation of discourse, and they express structural thematic relationships in discourse

The Interplay between Prosody and Syntax in Sentence Processing: The case of subject-control versus object-control verbs

Contains fulltext : 90630.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)This study addresses the question whether prosodic information can affect the choice for a syntactic analysis in auditory sentence processing. We manipulated the prosody (in the form of a prosodic break; PB) of locally ambiguous Dutch sentences to favor one of two interpretations. The experimental items contained two different types of so-called control verbs (subject and object control) in the matrix clause and were syntactically disambiguated by a transitive or by an intransitive verb. In Experiment 1, we established the default off-line preference of the items for a transitive or an intransitive disambiguating verb with a visual and an auditory fragment completion test. The results suggested that subject- and object-control verbs differently affect the syntactic structure that listeners expect. In Experiment 2, we investigated these two types of verbs separately in an on-line ERP study. Consistent with the literature, the PB elicited a closure positive shift. Furthermore, in subject-control items, an N400 effect for intransitive relative to transitive disambiguating verbs was found, both for sentences with and for sentences without a PB. This result suggests that the default preference for subject-control verbs goes in the same direction as the effect of the PB. In object-control items, an N400 effect for intransitive relative to transitive disambiguating verbs was found for sentences with a PB but no effect in the absence of a PB. This indicates that a PB can affect the syntactic analysis that listeners pursue