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Jou rnal o f Pragm at ics 16 (1991) 443-463

N or t h -H o l l and

443

h e fu n c t i o n o f a c c e s s i b i l i t y i n a th e o r y o f

g r a m m a r

M i r a A r i e l

Ariel (1985, 1988) has arg ued that discourse ana ph ora i s determ ined by reference to the not io n of

accessibi li t) in mem ory storage. U nde r the as sum pt ion that m ental repres entat ions (specifically

those o f NPs) are accessible to addressees in vary ing degrees, the claim is that speakers choo se

between referring expressions so as to mark such accessibil i ty differences for the addressee's

convenience.

Thus, di fferent referring expressions (e .g. , defini te descript ions, demonst rat ive pronouns,

pronouns) mark di fferent degrees of accessibi l i ty. Defini te descript ions mark relat ively low

accessibi li ty, dem ons t rat ive pron oun s an d p ron ou ns ma rk relatively higher degrees of accessibi l-

i ty. The l inguist ic coding of degrees of accessibil i ty is claimed to derive from three universal

pr inc ip les : Inform at iv i ty , R ig id i ty and At t enu at ion , such tha t mo re informat ive , l ess amb iguous

and mo re highly pron oun ced , longer form s ret rieve less accessible referents.

This art icle argues that precisely the same mechanism is responsible for the dist r ibut ion of

sentent ial ana pho ric expressions. focus on H ebrew zer o/pro nou n choices, which are reali sed in a

variety of form s and inflect ional m orphem es. The con clusion is that b oth intui tive gram ma t ical i ty

judg m ents and dist r ibut iona l pat terns in texts corrob orate the accessibil ity claim. T hus, the r ichly

informat ive, r igid and ful ly art iculated 1st and 2nd person pro no uns m ark relat ively low

accessibi l i ty. The present tense inflect ion, which i s uninformat ive, ambiguous and at tenuated,

marks an ext remely high degree of accessibi l i ty. Other markers are used for a variety of

interm ediate degrees o f accessibil ity.

1. Introduction

T h e p r o p o s a l s i n i t i a l l y o f f er e d i n A r i e l 1 9 8 5 ) w e r e d e s i g n e d t o a c c o u n t f o r t h e

p r o c e s s o f a c c e s s i n g m e n t a l r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s u s e d i n i n t e r p r e t i n g u t t e r a n c e s.

B r o a d l y s p e a k i n g , t h e q u e s t i o n p o s e d b y A c c e s s i b i l i t y t h e o r y s ee A r i e l 1 9 8 5,

1 98 8 , 1 9 9 0 ) i s h o w c o n t e x t i s b r o u g h t i n t o u s e w h i l e p r o c e s s i n g s e n t e n c e s. T h e

p r o p o s a l , a s f i r s t f o r m u l a t e d , a t t e m p t s t o a c c o u n t f o r a l l t h e g r a m m a t i c a l

c a t e g o r i e s u s e d w h e n m a r k i n g t h e n e e d t o a c c e s s c o n t e x t , i . e . , N P s , V P s , a n d

S s. I h a v e s i n c e c o n c e n t r a t e d s p e c i fi c a ll y o n t h e a c c e s s i n g o f N P a n t e c e d e n t s .

A s s u m i n g t h a t m e n t a l r e p r e s e n ta t i o n s a r e n o t e q u a l l y a c ce s si b le t o a d d r e s -

se e s a t a ny g iv e n s t a ge o f t he d i sc ou r se , I ha v e sugge s t e d Ar i e l 1985, 1988,

* A utho r ' s addre ss: M. Ariel, Depa rtmen t o f L;aguist ics, TeI-Aviv Universi ty, Ram at-Aviv, Tel -

Aviv 69978, Israel.

0378-2166/91/$03.50 © 199 -- Elsevier Science Publ ishers B.V. (N orth-H ol land )

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444 M Arie l / Accessibil i ty

1 9 9 0 ) t h a t c o n t e x t - r e t r i e v i n g e x p r e s s i o n s , r e f e r r i n g e x p r e s s i o n s a m o n g t h e m ,

a r e i n f a c t A c c e s s i b i l i t y m a r k e r s . T h e s e m a r k e r s a r e s p e c i a l i z e d , s u c h t h a t e a c h

p o i n t s t o a d i f f e re n t d e g r ee o f m e m o r y a v a i l a b i li t y . F o c u s i n g o n r e f er r in g

e x p r e s s i o n s , t h e c l a i m i s t h a t a d d r e s s e e s a r e g u i d e d i n a n t e c e d e n t r e t ri e v a l s b y

c o n s i d e r i n g t h e d e g re e o f A c c e s s ib i li ty s i g n a l le d b y t h e m a r k e r , r a t h e r t h a n b y

n o t i n g t h e c o n t e x t u a l s o u r c e m a r k e d ( g e n e r al k n o w l e d g e , p h y s i c a l sa li e nc e ,

l i n g u is t ic m a t e ri a l) , a s h a d c o m m o n l y b e e n a s s u m e d b y p r a g m a t i c is t s (C l a r k

a n d M a r s h a l l 1 9 8 1 , P r i n c e 1 9 8 1 ,

i n t e r a l ia .

T h i s i s t h e g e n e r a l c l a i m . T w o

q u e s t i o n s i m m e d i a t e l y c o m e t o m i n d : t h e d i a g n o s t ic q u e s t io n , n a m e l y , w h a t

d e t e r m i n e s d e g r e e o f A c c e s s ib i li ty ? a n d t h e c o d i n g q u e s t i o n , i.e ., o n w h a t

b a s i s a r e s p e c i f i c l i n g u i s t i c f o r m s c h o s e n f o r m a r k i n g s p e c i f i c d e g r e e s o f

A c c e s s i b i l i t y ?

T h e f ir s t q u e s t i o n w i l l b e b r i e fl y d e a l t w i t h i n s e c t io n 2 . I t i s f o l lo w e d b y

e m p i r i c a l e v i d e n c e s u p p o r t i n g t h e r e l e v a n c e o f p s y c h o l i n g u i s t i c f a c t o r s i n t h e

c h o i c e a m o n g r e f e r r i n g e x p r e s s i o n s i n n a t u r a l d i s c o u r s e ( 2 . 1 ) . B a s e d o n t h e

e m p i r i c a l e v i d e n c e p r e s e n t e d , r e f e r ri n g e x p r e s s i o n s w i l l b e a r r a n g e d o n a s c a l e

o f A c c e s s i b i li ty . W e t h e n t u r n t o t h e c o d i n g q u e s t i o n , s u g g e s t i n g t h r e e c r i t e r ia

a r e u n i v e r s a l l y u s e d t o t r a n s l a t e t h e c o g n i t i v e c o n c e p t o f A c c e s s i b i l i ty i n t o

l i n g u i s t i c d r e s s : i n f o r m a t i v i t y , r i g i d i ty a n d a t t e n u a t i o n ( s e c t io n 3). I t i s th e s e

c r i te r i a , w e s h a l l s u g g e s t, t h a t d e t e r m i n e t h e p a r t i c u l a r a s s i g n m e n t o f d e g re e o f

A c c e s s i b i l i ty t o p a r t i c u l a r l i n g u i s ti c f o rm s .

W e t h e n a r g u e t h e m a i n p o i n t o f t h is p a p e r , t h e c l a im t h a t p a r a l le l t o t h e

d i s c o u r se - le v e l o b s e r v a t i o n s p r e s e n t e d i n s e c t i o n 2 , s e n t e n c e- l e v e l a n a p h o r a

o b e y s A c c e s s i b i li t y t h e o r y t o o ( s e c t io n 4 ). T h e A v o i d P r o n o u n p r i n c i p l e w i l l

b e s e e n t o b e r e d u n d a n t (4 .1 ). Z e r o s u b j e c t s w i l l s e r v e to s p e l l o u t t h e

p r e d i c t i o n s m a d e b y A c c e s s i b il i ty t h e o r y r e g a r d i n g s e n t e n t i a l a n a p h o r a (4 .2 ).

A d e t a i l e d a n a l y s i s o f a v a r i e t y o f H e b r e w e x a m p l e s w i t h z e r o s u b j e c ts f o ll o w s

( 4 . 3 ) , s o t h a t w e c a n c o n c l u d e t h a t p a r a l l e l t o t h e d i s c o u r s e - l e v e l p h e n o m e n a ,

s e n t en c e - le v e l e x p r e s s i o n s t o o f o r m a s c a l e o f A c c e s s i b i l it y . T h u s , t h e s a m e

p s y c h o l i n g u i s t i c f a c t o r s a r e s ee n to b e o p e r a t i v e i n g r a m m a t i c a l d e c i s i o n s , a n d

t h e s a m e f o r m a l c r i t e r i a d e t e r m i n e w h i c h s e n t e n c e - l e v e l f o r m s a r e t o b e

a s s o c i a t e d w i t h w h a t d e g r e e s o f A c c e s s i b i l i ty .

2 . Discou rse l eve l re ferences

A s s e s s i n g th e d e g r e e o f A c c e s s i b i li t y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h a g i v e n m e m o r y i t e m i s a

p s y c h o l o g i c a l m a t t e r , w h i c h w i l l n o t b e a d d r e s s e d h e r e. T h e r e l e v a n t c o n s i d e r -

a t i o n s h a v e a l r e a d y b e e n i d e n t i f i e d i n t h e p s y c h o l i n g u i s t i c l i te r a t u r e ( s e e

S a n f o r d a n d G a r r o d 1 98 1 , M a r s l e n - W i l s o n e t a l. 1 9 8 2, A r i e l 1 9 8 5,

i n t e r a l ia ,

a n d w i l l s i m p l y b e a s s u m e d . T h u s , d e p t h o f s to r a g e i n m e m o r y i s r e l ev a n t

w h e n s p e a k e r u s es a n e w N P , e v o k i n g a r e p r e s e n t a t i o n n o t re f e r re d t o

p r e v i o u s l y i n t h e c u r r e n t d i s c o u rs e . S p e a k e r m u s t t h e n d i s t i n g u i s h b e t w e e n

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M . Ar ie l / Access ib i li ty 445

r e p r e s e n t a t io n s e n t e r e d i n t o s t o r a g e m a n y y e a r s a g o , v e r s u s in f o r m a t i o n

s to red j u s t a f ew hours ago , a s we l l a s t op i cs dea r t o t he add res see ve r sus ones

he t ends t o fo rge t abou t , e tc . O f cou rse , i n f i n it e l y m an y i n t e rm ed ia t e s t a t u ses

exis t .

F o r o ld ' N P s , e v o k i n g a r e p r e s e n t a t i o n a l r e a d y i n t r o d u c e d i n t o t h e d i s-

c o u r s e, t h e d i s ta n c e b e t w e e n t h e l a st m e n t i o n o f t h e a n t e c e d e n t a n d t h e

c u r r e n t N P f o r m e v o k i n g t h e s a m e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n h a s b e e n f o u n d t o b e

c ruc i a l . Th i s u sua l l y bo i l s down to ma t t e r s o f r ecency , i . e . , l a t e r men t ions a re

more acces s ib l e t han ea r l i e r ones ( c f . ma t e r i a l men t ioned i n t he d i s course f i ve

p a r a g r a p h s a w a y w i t h m a t e r i a l m e n t i o n e d i n t h e l a s t s e n t e n c e ) . H o w e v e r ,

f i n d i n g s s h o w t h a t i t i s n o t m e r e l y p h y s i c a l d i s t a n c e a s m e a s u r e d b y n u m b e r

o f w o r d s o r c l a u s e s w h i c h c o u n t s . R a t h e r , r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s a r e c lo s e o r d i s t a n t

a c c o r d i n g a s t h e y a r e e m b e d d e d w i t h i n t h e s a m e f r a m e , p a r a g r a p h , e t c . I c a l l

t h i s t he un i t y c r i t e r i on .

I n a d d i t i o n , t w o o t h e r f e a t u r e s a r e r e l e v a n t f o r N P s e v o k i n g e i t h e r ' n e w ' o r

' o l d ' a n te c e d e n t s. T h e e x t e n t t o w h i c h a n a n t e c e d e n t i s p r o m i n e n t m a k e s i t a

m ore o r a l e ss ava i l ab l e r ep resen t a t i on . Th us , d i s course an d s en t ence t op i cs ,

speaker , add res see , im po r t an t pe op l e o r t h ings in add res see ' s l if e ( spouse ,

ch i l d ren ) , e t c. , a re m ore ea s i l y r e t r i evab l e t han o the r r ep resen t a t i ons . R e l a t ed

t o p r o m i n e n c e i s c o m p e t i t io n , n a m e l y , h o w m a n y o t h e r a n t e c e d e n t s c a n

p o t e n t i a l l y s e rv e a s a n t e c e d e n t s f o r t h e s a id N P . T h e m o r e c o m p e t i to r s t h e r e

a re , t he l e s s t he spec i f i c an t eceden t i n t ended by t he speaker i s un ique ly

access ib le to the addressee .

2 1 Em pirical evidence

S u b s e q u e n t m e n t i o n s o f r e f e r e n ts in d i s c o u r s e a r e m a d e t o m e n t a l r e p r e s e n -

t a t i o n s w h i c h a r e r e l a t i v e l y m o r e a c c e s s ib l e . O n c e e v o k e d , s u c h m e m o r y

en t i t i e s mus t r emain ac t i va t ed , a t l eas t fo r a wh i l e . R efe rences t o ~new '

e n t i t i e s , o n t h e o t h e r h a n d , r e t r i e v e m e n t a l r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s i n d e e p e r s t o r a g e .

H e n c e , i f a n e x a m i n a t i o n o f f ir s t v e r s u s s u b s e q u e n t r e t r ie v a l s sh o w s t h a t

s p e c i f i c e x p r e s s i o n s f a v o r s p e c i f i c c o n t e x t s , o u r h y p o t h e s i s i s s u p p o r t e d .

T h i s i s i n d e e d t h e c a s e , w h e n w e c o m p a r e t h e o c c u r r e n c e o f d e f i n i te

d e s c r i p t i o n s a n d f u ll p r o p e r n a m e s ( f ir s t + l a s t n a m e ) i n d i s c o u r se . N o t e h o w

t h e p e r c e n t a g e s i n t a b l e l a r e p r a c t i c a l l y r e v e rs e d f o r t h e t w o e x p r e s s i o n

types , z

' A s d a t a I u s e d f ic t io n , s h o r t n e w s i te m s , e d it o r i a ls a n d p o p u l a r i z e d a c a d e m i c a r ti c le s . F o r

f ic t io n I u s e d K a t e C h a u p i n ' s " T h e s t o r y o f o n e h o u r ' , a s tr a n s l a t e d i n t o H e b r e w b y R . G i o r a i n

N o g a 8 1 98 4. a n d t h e f i rs t h a l f o f A l i ce W a l k e r ' s ' H o w d i d I g e t a w a y w i t h k i l li n g o n e o f t h e

b i g g e s t l a w y e r s in t h e s t a t e ? I t w a s e a s y ' , t r a n s l a t e d i n t o H e b r e w b y R . G i o r a i n

N o g a

1 , 1985.

S h o r t p e w s i t e m s w e r e c o l l e c t e d f r o m N o g a 12 , 1986 , a nd Maar iv N o v . 7 , 19 86 . T h e p o p u l a r i z e d

a c a d e m i c p ie c e s a p p e a r e d i n Z m a n i m . p p . 5 7 , 9 6. T h e t w o e d i t o r i a l a r t i c le s w e r e t a k e n f r o m

H a a r e t - Oct . 15 , 1986.

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446 M . Arie l / Accessibil ity

T a b l e I

N a m e s a n d d e f i n it e d e s c r i p t i o n s i n f ir s t v s . s u b s e q u e n t m e n t i o n s .

E x p r e s s i o n C o n t e x t

F i r s t m e n t i o n S u b s e q u e n t m e n t i o n s

D e f i n i t e d e s c r i p t i o n s 1 80 = 3 3 . 8 3 5 3 = 6 6 . 2

F u l l n a m e s 1 18 = 6 3 . 8 6 7 = 3 6 . 2

A s i m i l a r s p e c i a l i z a t i o n i s r e v e a l e d w h e n w e c o m p a r e l o n g d e f in i t e d e s c r i p -

t i o n s m o r e t h a n t w o c o n t e n t w o r d s ) v e rs u s s h o r t d e fi n it e d e s c r i p t i o n s o n e to

t w o c o n t e n t w o r d s ) , a s c a n b e s e e n i n t a b l e 2 . 1

T a b l e 2

L o n g a n d s h o r t d e f i n i te d e s c r i p t i o n s in f i rs t v s . s u b s e q u e n t m e n t i o n s .

E x p r e s s i o n C o n t e x t

F i r s t m e n t i o n S u b s e q u e n t m e n t i o n s

S h o r t d e f i n i t e : l e s c r i p t i o n s 8 4 = 2 1 . 8 3 0 2 = 7 8 . 2

L o n g d e f i n i t e d e s c r i p t i o n s 9 6 = 6 5 . 3 5 1 = 3 4 . 7

W h e n w e e x a m i n e t h e o c c u r r en c e o f n a m e s a s in i ti a l r e tr ie v e r s , a d i st i n c t io n

a p p e a r s a m o n g n a m e t y p e s. T a b l e 3 s h o w s a c le a r p r ef e r e n c e f o r f u ll n a m e s

w h e n a f ir s t m e n t i o n i s m a d e . 2

T a b l e 3

N a m e t y p e s i n i n i t i a l r e t r i e v a l s .

F u l l n a m e s L a s t n a m e s F i r s t n a m e s

1 35 = 8 5 . 2 2 3 = 1 4 .8 ~ = 0

I n o t h e r w o r d s , i n f ir s t e v o c a t i o n u s e s a d i s t in c t i o n i s d r a w n b e t w e e n n a m e s

a n d d e f in i te d e s c ri p t io n s , b e t w e e n l o n g a n d s h o r t d e f i n it e d e s c r i p t io n s a n d

b e t w e e n f u ll , l a s t a n d f i r s t n a m e s . T h a t i s , w h e n t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n i s n o t

h i g h l y a c c e s si b le , s p e a k e r s f a v o r c e r t a i n l i n g u i s t ic e x p r e s s i o n s o v e r o t h e r s

n a m e s o v e r d e f i n i t e d e s c r i p t i o n s , l o n g d e f i n i t e d e s c r i p t i o n s o v e r s h o r t d e f i n i t e

d e s c r i p t i o n s , f u ll n a m e s o v e r l a s t n a m e s , l a s t n a m e s o v e r f ir s t n a m e s ) . T h e

o n e s f a v o r e d , I c l a i m , a r e m a r k e r s o f a re l a t i v e l y l o w e r A c c e s s i b i li t y .

T o s ee th e r o l e o f d i s t a n c e / r e c e n c y n o t e t h e f i n d i n g s i n t a b l e 4 , w h e r e a l l

r e f e r e n c e s a r e n o n - i n i t i a l . T h e e x p r e s s i o n s a r e a l l a n a p h o r i c h e r e .

2 A s d a t a I us e d t w o a r t ic l e s f r o m t h e s u p p l e m e n t o f Haaretz, A u g . 1 6 , 1 9 8 5 , a n d a s h o r t - s t o r y ,

' H a - K a d i s h ' , H . B e n - Y e h u d a , i n Y . B e rl o v i ch ( e d .) Wom en s Stories, T a r m i l , I s r a e l .

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Table 4

Distribution of anaphoric expressions in text (popular contexts in bold face).

447

Expression Context

Same S Previous S Same para. Across para.

Pronoun 110=20.8 % 32 0=60 .5% 75= 14.2% 24= 4.5%

Demonstrative 4 = 4.8% 50 -- 59.5% 17-- 20.2% 13 = 15.5%

Definite description 4 = 2.8% 20 = 14.1% 65 = 45.8% 53 = 37.3%

T h e c o n c l u s i o n s r e g a r d i n g th e p o p u l a r c o n t e x ts (8 0 ) o f e a c h e x p re s s io n a r e

t h a t p r o n o u n s m o s t l y o c c u r w i t h i n t h e c l o s es t d i s ta n c e ( s a m e o r p r e v i o u s S),

d e m o n s t r a t i v e s a r e c o n c e n t r a t e d i n t h e i n t e r m e d i a t e d i s t a n c e ( p r e v i o u s S ,

s ame p a rag raph) , an d de f in i te desc r ip t ions occur a t the fu r thes t con tex t s ( s ame

a n d a c r o ss p a r a g r a p h b o u n d a r y ) . 3 U n d e r t h e p r o p o s a l a t h a n d , t h e y w il l b e

c lass i fi ed as low , in te rm ed ia te a nd h igh Acces s ib i li ty m arke r s r e spec t ive ly .

I h a v e s u g g e s t e d t h a t u n i t y ( h o w r e l a t e d t h e u n i t i n w h i c h t h e a n t e c e d e n t

o c c u r s i s t o t h e u n i t t h e a n a p h o r i s i n ) i s a l s o r e l e v a n t w h e n c u r r e n t

Acces s ib i li ty is de te rmined . F ind ing s supp or t in g the u n i ty c r i t e r ion d i s cus s the

c ruc ia l ro le o f s ame ve r sus d i f f e ren t po in t s o f v iew , wor lds o r f r ames .

Ander son e t a l . ' s (1983) exper imen ts a re cha rac te r i s t i c in th i s r e spec t . They

f o u n d t h a t r e f er r in g t o a f r a m e - d e p e n d e n t e n t i t y ( a n e n t e r t a i n e r i n a c h i l d r e n 's

b i r thday pa r ty ) i s eas ie r when the d i s cour se i s s t i l l embedded in the s ame

f r a m e . T h u s , w h e n t h e y c o m p a r e d r e a d i n g t i m e s o f t h e s a m e a n a p h o r i c

e x p r e ss io n r e f e r f n g t o t h e s a m e a n t e c e d e n t w h e n ~ till w i t h i~ ; .h e b i r t h d a y

par ty s cene and ou t s ide i t ( f ive hour s l a t e r ) , r ead ing t ime o f the now f r ame-

ex te rna l an teced en t was s lower. D is tan ce was , o f cour se , kep t con s tan t .

A n o t h e r r e s u l t o f t h e u n i t y c r i t e r i o n i s t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f p r o n o u n s v e r s u s

ze ros in Ch inese d i s cour se , a s d i s cus sed by L i and Thompson (1979) . They

re fe r to deg ree o f un i ty a s deg ree o f con jo ina b i l i ty , and wh a t they found i s

t h a t p r o n o u n s , r a t h e r t h a n z e ro s t e n d t o o c c u r i n re l a ti v e ly i n d e p e n d e n t

sen tences ( in the p ragm at ic s ense) . Ze ros oc cur in the com plem en ta ry con tex t .

T h e f o l lo w i n g i s o n e o f t h e i r e x a m p l e s :

( l a ) T h i s W a n g - M i a n i w a s gi ft ed .

( Ib ) 0 i was no t m ore tha n 20 yea r s o f age .

( I c ) 0 i had a l r ead y m as te red . . . .

( id ) How ever , he i had a d if f e ren t pe r so na l i ty . . . .

3 Two of the texts examined were fictional discourse: the opening section of a novel (E.H.

Young,

The curate~ wife

London: Virago Press, 1934/1985, 7-13), and a short story (G. Paley,

The pale pink roast', in

Li t t le disturbances qfm an

London: Virago Press, 1956/1980, 43-52). For

non-fiction I chose 'Trouble on the set: An analysis of female characters on 1985 television

programs'. National Commission on Working Women: 1-12, and J.E. Tucker,

Women in

Nineteenth Century Egypt

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985, I--6.

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448 M Ar i e l / Ac c e s s i b i l i t y

I n o t h e r w o r d s, p r o n o u n s a r e l o w e r A c c e ss i bi li ty m a r k e r s t h a n z e ro s.

A s m e n t i o n e d a b o v e , a n t e c e d e n t p r o m i n e n c e i s a l s o f u n c t i o n a l i n f a c i l i t a t -

ing r e t ri eva ls . The r esu lt s show n in t ab le 4 w ere even mo re ex t r eme once I

e l imina ted a l l expres s ions whose an teced en t s a re d i s cour se top ics . Tab le 4 has

4 . 5 o f t h e p r o n o u n s o c c u r r i n g a c r o s s t h e p a r a g r a p h b o u n d a r y , b u t a c t u a l ly ,

the g rea t ma jo r i ty o f these were d i s cour se top ics . Hence , once we d i s coun t

t h e m : o n ly 0 . 37 o f a ll p r o n o u n s c r os s t h e p a r a g r a p h b o u n d a r y . N o d r a m a -

t i c e f fec t r e su lt s when we do the s am e fo r de f in i t e desc r ip t ion s : the pe rcen tage

r e m a i n s 3 7 . I n o t h e r w o r d s , i t w a s t h e p r o m i n e n c e o f th e a n t e c e d e n t , d u e t o

i t s ro le a s top ic , wh ich a l lowed the l a rge d i s t ance be tween the an teceden t and

the r e la t ive ly h igh Acces s ib i li ty m ark er - the p ro no un .

A d d i t i o n a l e v i d e n c e c o m e s f r o m e x p e r i m e n t a l r e s e a r c h s u c h a s P u r k i s s

(1978) , a s r epor ted in San fo rd and G ar r od (1981). Pu rk i s s t e s ted r ead in g t imes

o f s e nt e nc e s c o n t a i n i n g a n a p h o r i c r e fe r e nc e s t o e n t it ie s p r e v i o u s l y m e n t i o n e d

i n t o p i c v e r s u s n o n - t o p i c s t a t u s . R e s u l t s s h o w e d t h a t d e p e n d i n g o n t h e

d i s ta n c e b e t w e e n t h e a n t e c e d e n t a n d t h e a n a p h o r , t o p i c - re f e r ri n g s e n te n c e s

too k 11-14 s econds to p rocess , wh i le non- to p ic - r e fe r r ing s en tences too k 13-

17.5 s econds . Th i s d i f fe rence mu s t be a t t r ib u ted to the d i f f e rence in the ease o f

r e t r i ev ing top ics ve r sus non- top ics .

Broadben t ' s (1973) f ind ings us ing na t ive speaker s ' j udgmen ts in e f f ec t

s u p p o r t t h e c r i te r i o n o f p ro m i n e n c e . H e n o t e s a p r e f e re n c e f o r t h e t o p i c to b e

c h o s e n a s t h e a n t e c e d e n t o v e r o t h e r c a n d i d a t e s . T h u s , w h e n p r e s e n t e d w i t h

the fo l lowing r e fe ren t i a l ly am biguo us s en tence , sub jec t s a s s igned the an ap ho -

r ic re la t ions as indicated in (2) , where

i t

i s t a k e n t o b e a n a p h o r i c t o t h e t o p i c

f e e d p i p e ) a n d n o t t o t h e n o n o t o p i c c h a i n ) :

(2 ) The f eedp ipe i lub r ica tes the cha in j , and ih shou ld be ad jus ted to l eave a

g a p h a l f a n i n c h b e t w e e n i t s e lf a n d t h e s p r o c k et .

P rominence i s a l so r e levan t in f i r s t men t ions . Ander son e t a l . (1983) , and

Cla rk , Schreuder an d Bu t t r i ck (1983) fo und tha t phys ica l ly s a l i en t ob jec t s

were p re fe r r ed as an teceden t s .

C lancy (1980) , who checked 20 Eng l i sh and 20 J apanese ve r s ions o f the

P e a r S t o r y m o v i e , c a n b e c it ed i n s u p p o r t o f t h e c l a i m t h a t c o m p e t i t i o n c a n

d e t r a c t f r o m t h e p r o m i n e n c e , a n d h e n c e t h e A c c e s si b il it y o f a n a n t e c e d e n t .

H e r c o n c l u s i o n s f o r b o t h l a n g u a g e s a r e t h a t w h e n t h e r e a r e n o i n t e r v e n i n g

N P s b e t w e e n t h e a n a p h o r a n d t h e a n t e c e d e n t , 0 i s p r e f e r r e d . W h e n t h e r e i s

o n e i n t e r v e n in g N P , f u ll N P s a r e m o r e p o p u l a r t h a n z e r o s o r p r o n o u n s . L a s t,

Os a n d p r o n o u n s g r a d u a l l y d i sa p p e a r w h e n i n t e r v e n i n g N P s a c c u m u l a t e . A f t e r

f ive such in te rven in g NPs , no p ro no un s o r ze ros occur .

Th e em pi r i ca l ev idence ske tched in the l a s t f ew pa rag rap hs i s on ly pa r t o f a

m u c h m o r e d e t a i le d a n a l y s is b r o u g h t f o r t h i n p r e v io u s w o r k . S i n ce d is c o u r se

re fe rences a re n o t a t the focus o f the w ork he re r epo r ted , the ev idence c it ed in

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M Ar i e l / Ac c e s s i b i l i ty 449

sup por t o f the Acces s ib l ity theo ry has be en qu i t e b r ie f . I t pe r t a ins to nam es

(a r.d na m e types) , de f in i t e desc r ip t ions ( con t r as t ing long ve r sus shor t ones as

w e ll ), d e m o n s t r a t iv e s , p r o n o u n s a n d z e ro s . I n e a c h c a s e, a c o m p a r i s o n o f t h e

c o n t e x t w h e r e t h e r e i s s o m e p r e f e r e n c e fo r o n e e x p r e s si o n o v e r a n o t h e r s h o w s

them to be d i f f e ren t in the degree o f Acces s ib il i ty they s igna l. The r ea der i s

r e fe r red to Ar ie l (1988 , 1990) fo r fu r the r supp or t fo r the ro le o f Acces s ib il i ty

t h e o r y i n d i c t a t i n g a p p r o p r i a t e c h o i c e s a m o n g r e f e r r i n g e x p r e s s i o n s i n d i s -

c o u r se . T h e r e , b a s e d o n a d d i t i o n a l d i s t r ib u t i o n a l fi n d i n g s d r a w n f r o m a

v a r i e ty o f u n r e l a t e d l a n g u ag e s , I h a v e e s t a b l is h e d t h e f o l lo w i n g h i e r a rc h y o f

Acces s ib i li ty m arke r s :

(3) L O W A C C E S S I B I L I T Y

F u l l n a m e + M o d i f i e r

F u ll n a m e

Long def in i t e desc r ip t ion

Shor t de f in i t e desc r ip t ion

L a s t n a m e

F i r s t n a m e

D i s t a l d e m o n s t r a t i v e ( + M o d i f i e r )

P r o x i m a l d e m o n s t r a t i v e ( + M o d i f i e r )

S t re s se d p r o n o u n s + G e s t u r e

S t re ss e d p r o n o u n s

U n s t r e s s e d p r o n o u n s

Z e r o s

H I G H A C C E S S I B I L I T Y

3 Cod ing Accessibi li ty in language

The above s ca le o f Acces s ib i l i ty , i t i s c l a imed , i s by and l a rge un iver sa l . We

s h o u l d t h e r e f o r e n o w m o v e t o t h e s e c o n d q u e s t i o n p o s e d , t h e c o d i n g q u e s ti o n .

I f w e c a n d i a g n o s e a c o d i n g p a t t e r n i n t h e a r r a n g e m e n t o f (3 ) ab o v e , w e c a n

acc oun t fo r i ts un ive r sa l i ty . Indeed , I sugges t tha t th e a r r an gem en t in (3 ) i s f a r

f rom acc iden ta l . Un iver sa l ly , th ree c r i t e r i a a re used in the l ingu is t ic cod i f i ca -

t ion p roces s o f the cogn i t ive conc ep t Megree o f A cces s ib l i ty : in fo rm at iv i ty ,

r ig i d it y a n d a t t e n u a t i o n . T h e m o r e i n f o r m a t i v e , t h e m o r e r ig i d a n d t h e l e a s t

a t t en ua te d the fo rm the lower Acces s ib i li ty i t m arks , a nd v ice ve rsa .

T h e d e g re e o f i n f o r m a t i v i t y i n c o r p o r a t e d i n t o t h e l in g u i st ic m a r k e r i s

c ruc ia l fo r it s ro le a s an Acces s ib il i ty m arke r , fo r the m ore l ex ica l in fo rm at io n

the marker provides the bet ter i t i s su i ted for the re t r ieval of less access ib le

m ate r i a l . A lso , the mo re i t can com pen sa te fo r the l ack o f a un iqu e an tece -

den t , i f such i s the case. Th e em pt ie r the m arke r is sem an t ica l ly , a l l i t does i s

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45 M A r i e l / A c c e s s i b i l i ty

s igna l h igh Acces s ib il i ty , s ince und er su ch c i r cum s tances addres see i s ha rd ly in

n e e d o f g u i d a n c e i n i d e n t i fy i n g t h e i n t e n d e d a n t e c e d e n t ( e. g. , T he I s r ae l i

l ingui s t vs. T h e l i n g u i st ; T h i s b o o k vs. This ) .

T h e c o n s e q u e n c e s o f a p p l y i n g th e i n f o r m a t i v i t y c r i t e r i o n a r e t h a t t h e

fo l lowing express ions a re d i s t ingu i shed r egard ing the d egree o f Acces s ib i li ty

t h e y s h o u l d b e u s e d f o r :

4a )

(4b)

(4c)

(4d)

O v s. p r o n o u n

F u l l d e m o n s t r a ti v e / d e f in i t e d e s c r i p t io n t h i s / t h e b o o k ) v s . b a r e d e m o n -

s t ra t ive t h i s )

Ful l name vs . pa r t i a l names ( f i r s t / l a s t name)

In ge neral : x + m od if ier vs . x

However , s t i l l und i s t ingu i shed a re the fo l lowing , s ince no apparen t d i f f e rence

in l ex ica l con ten t can be es tab l i shed :

(5a) Def in i te desc r ip t ions vs. fu l l dem ons t r a t ives

( 5b ) B a r e d e m o n s t r a t i v e s vs. p r o n o u n s ( a s i n H e b r e w , w h e r e b o t h m a r k

g e n d er a n d n u m b e r )

(5c) S t ressed vs . uns t ressed pronouns

(5d) Fu l l na m es vs. de f in i t e desc r ip t ions

(5e) La s t nam es vs . f i r s t nam es

Hence , two more c r i t e r i a a re needed . The f i r s t one i s r ig id i ty , namely , how

unique ly r e fe r r ing an expres s ion i s . Of cour se , th i s i s con tex t dependen t , bu t

s t i l l , s o m e m a r k e r s a r e m o r e r i g i d t h a n o t h e r s , a n d t o t h a t e x t e n t t h e

c r i t e ri o n m a k e s d i f f e re n t p r e d i c ti o n s t h a n t h e i n f o r m a t i v i t y c r i te r i o n . T h u s ,

so -ca l led un iqu e ly r e fe r ring expres s ions m ay be used t o r e t r i eve en t i t i e s wh ich

are o f a re la t ively low er degree o f Ac cess ib i l i ty (e.g., E l l e n P r i n c e vs. T h e

l inguis t ) .

Th e co nsequences o f app ly ing the r ig id i ty c r i t e r ion a re the d i s t inc t ion s l i st ed

in (6):

6a )

(6b)

(6c)

P rop er N am es vs . de fin i te desc r ip t ions

Las t nam es vs. f i rs t nam es ( a t l eas t in the w es t, the re i s a l a rge r va r i e ty o f

the fo rmer )

1 st a n d 2 n d p e r s o n p r o n o u n s ( s p e a k e r a n d a d d r e ss e e a re p r e d e t e r m i n e d )

v s. 3 rd p e r s o n p r o n o u n s ( a n y g r a m m a t i c a l l y a p p r o p r i a t e a n t e c e d e n t

excep t fo r the above two)

T h e r e s t o f t h e d i s t i n c t i o n s a r e a c h i e v e d v i a t h e t h i r d c r i t e r i o n , a t t e n u a t i o n .

A t t e n u a t i o n i s c l o se t o G i v r n s ( 19 8 3) p r o p o s a l c o n c e r n i n g p h o n o l o g i c a l siz e.

A g a i n , t h e r e is a l o t o f o v e r l a p w i t h t h e r e s u lt s a c h ie v e d b y t h e i n f o r m a t i v i t y

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c r i t e r i o n b e c a u s e , n a t u r a l l y , o n e t e n d s t o u s e m o r e w o r d i n g i n o r d e r t o b e

m o r e i n f o r m a t i v e . H o w e v e r , e v e n w h e n l e n g th p l a y s n o r o l e, le ss a t t e n u a t e d

fo rms t e nd t o be u s e d fo r l ow e r A c c e s s i b i l i t y r e t r i e va l s ( e . g . , s t r e s s e d v s .

u n s t re s s ed p r o n o u n s ) . A p p l y i n g t h e c r it e r io n o f a tt e n u a t i o n c r e a te s t h e f o l lo w -

i ng d i s t i nc t i ons :

( 7 a ) S t r e s s e d v s . u n s t r e s s e d p r o n o u n s

( 7 b ) I n g e n e r a l : a n y f o r m s w h i c h v a r y i n l e n g t h b u t n o t i n c o n t e n t

United

States of America vs . U S )

( 7 c ) D e i c ti c s v s . p r o n o u n s ( i n H e b r e w )

N o t e t h a t th e a t t e n u a t i o n c r it e ri o n i s s o m e w h a t p r o b l e m a t ic . T h e r e a s o n i s

t h a t n o t o n l y A c c e s s i b i l i t y d e t e r m i n e s a t t e n u a t i o n . M a r k e d n e s s a l s o d e t e r -

m i n e s d e g r e e o f a t t e n u a t i o n . H e n c e , d e f in i t e d e s c r i p t i o n s , w h i c h a r e m o r e

a t t e n u a t e d t h a n f u ll d e m o n s t r a t i v e s , s h o u l d h a v e b e e n u s e d f o r h i g h e r A c c e s s i-

b i li ty , b u t t h e y a r e n o t . I t i s e a s y t o m o t i v a t e t h e a t t e n u a t i o n o f d e fi n it e

d e s c r i p t io n s i n v i e w o f t h e i r h i g h p o p u l a r i t y ( d e m o n s t r a t i v e s a r e q u i te r a r e ) .

T h u s , w e a r e f o r c e d t o s a y t h a t t h e r e i s s o m e c o n v e n t i o n a l i t y i n t h e s c a l e i n

( 3 ), w h i c h i s i r r e d u c i b l e t o t h e t h r e e p r i n c ip l e s p r o p o s e d . F o r t h e s a m e r e a s o n ,

S p e r b e r a n d W i l so n s ( 1 98 6 ) R e l e v a n c e p r i n c ip l e a n d L e v i n s o n s ( 19 8 5 ) M i n i -

m i z a t i o n p r i n c i p l e c a n n o t o n t h e i r o w n a c c o u n t f o r p r e f e r e n c e s i n c h o i c e s

a m o n g r e fe r r in g e x p r e s s io n s .

A no t h e r qu a l i f i c a t i on w h i c h i s c a l l e d fo r is t ha t t he un i v e r s a l s c a l e i n (3 ) i s

i n t e n d e d t o c h a r a c t e r i z e r e la t iv e , b u t n o t a b s o l u t e d e g r e e s o f A c c es s ib i li ty . I n

o t h e r w o r d s , d i f f e r e n c e s a m o n g l a n g u a g e s a r e n o t r u l e d o u t , s i n c e t h e s i z e o f

t he s l o t on t he s c a l e a l l o t t e d t o e a c h e xp re s s i on c a n va ry . I t i s r e l a t i ve

A c c e s s i b i l i t y w h i c h i s p r e d i c t e d t o b e c o n s t a n t a c r o s s l a n g u a g e s , n o t a b s o l u t e

d e g r e e s o f A c c e s s ib i li ty . T h u s , i n d if f e r e n t la n g u a g e s , p r o n o u n s , f o r e x a m p l e ,

b e h a v e d i f f e re n t ly . W h a t i s c o n s t a n t i s t h a t t h e y s i g n a l h i g h e r A c c e s si b il it y

t h a n d e m o n s t r a t i v e s a n d l o w e r A c c e s s i b i l i t y t h a n z e r o s . O t h e r d i f f e r e n c e s

w h i c h d o n o t r e f u t e t h e u n i v e r s a l i ty o f ( 3 ) s h o u l d b e m e n t i o n e d . F i r s t , a

l a n g u a g e m a y s i m p l y l a c k s o m e o f t h e f o r m s l i s t e d ( a d e f i n i t e n e s s m a r k e r i n

S l a v i c l a n g u a g e s ) . S e c o n d , t h e m a r k e d n e s s o f f o r m s v a r i e s a c r o s s l a n g u a g e s

( f o r J a p a n e s e , i t is p r o n o u n s , b u t f o r E n g l i s h ~ s a r e m a r k e d ) .

4. Sentence level anaphora

U p t i l l n o w , w e h a v e l i m i t e d o u r d i s c u s s i o n t o d i s c o u r s e a n a p h o r a . H o w e v e r ,

i f ,A c c es si bil ity i s a c ogn i t ive c on c e p t g u i d i n g c ho i c e s a m on g r e f e r r i ng a n d

a na phor i c e xp re s s i ons i n d i s c ou r s e , i t i s on l y p l a us i b l e t o a rgue t ha t i t i s a l s o

f u n c t io n a l f o r g r a m m a t i c a l f o r m s p r o p e r . I n d e e d , i t is m y b e l ie f t h a t g r a m m a -

t i c a l a n a p h o r a o b e y s A c c e s s i b i l i t y t h e o r y t o o . N o t e t h a t s u c h a t h e s i s c a n b e

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M A r i e l / A c c e s s i b i li t y

4 5 3

d i s t r i b u t io n a l f a c ts a s t h e y w e r e t a k e n t o b e . T h e o p t i o n a l i t y o f t h e z e r o v s.

over t fo rm cou p led w i th any p rag m at ic theo ry , such as Ka she r s (1976, 1982)

R a t i o n a l i t y , S p e r b e r a n d W i l s o n s ( 1 9 86 ) R e l e v a n c e o r L e v i n s o n s ( 1 98 5 )

M i n i m i z a t i o n p r i n c i p l e p r e d i c t t h a t w h e n e v e r g r a m m a t i c a l l y p o s si b le , t h e z e r o

fo rm shou ld be p re fe r r ed . The re i s, the re fo re , n o need fo r a spec ia l p r inc ip le in

o r d e r t o a c c o u n t f o r t h e z e r o c h o i c e s . A p r o b l e m d o e s a r i s e w h e n p r o n o u n s

are prefer red .

I c l a im tha t in f ac t, when the Av o id P ron ou n seems to w ork i t i s because the

Access ib i li ty associa te d w i t il the repre senta t ion is ex t rem ely h igh , hence cal l ing

fo r the use o f a ze ro , an obv ious ly a t t en ua ted fo rm. U nd er such c i r cums tances ,

Acces sib il ity theo ry , the p ragm at ic p r inc ip les m en t ioned a bov e and the Av o id

P r o n o u n p r in c i p le a l l a g re e . T h e p r o b l e m w i t h t h e A v o i d P r o n o u n p r i n c ip l e

a r is es in those cases where i t does n o t app ly . W hereas A cces sib il ity theo ry has

a n e x p l a n a t i o n f o r t h e f a i lu r e t o u s e t h e z e r o f o r m , p r o p o n e n t s o f t h e A v o i d

Pro nou n p r inc ip le o f f e r no exp lan a t ion . A l l they can o f fe r i s tha t such cases a re

ma rked . No te , however , th a t ev¢ ~ i f th is were the case , on e s t i ll needs to exp la in

w h e n a n d w h y m a r k e d f o r m s a r e e v e r p r e f e r r e d o v e r u n m a r k e d o n e s . M o r e -

over , c l a iming tha t i t is m arked to p re fe r a p ro no un over a ze ro fo rm in a

language l ike Eng l i sh (Un l ike Ch inese , e .g. ) is qu i t e un m ot iva ted .

Th e p rob lem wi th the A vo id P r on ou n p r inc ip le ( as we l l a s the o the r theo r ies,

when no t me d ia ted b y A cces ib i li ty theo ry ) i s the p red ic t ion tha t p re fe rences a re

un id i r ec t iona l (on ly ze ros a re f avored over p rono uns , never the reverse) . T h i s i s

n o t t ru e i n a c t u a l d is c ou r se . T h e o n l y r e a s o n w h y g r a m m a r i a n s s aw o n l y o n e

s ide of the co in , nam ely , a preference for th e h igher A ccess ib i li ty m ark , , r, i s ~he.:

they t end to concen t r a te on min imal un i t s . No wonder speaker s p re fe r h igher

Acces sib il ity m arker s whe n the un i t invo lv ing bo th the an tecede n t and the

an ap ho r is the S dom ain , o r even the m ore r es t ri c ted , govern ing ca tegory

d o m a i n . G r a m m a r i a n s s im p l y d o n o t e n c o u n t e r e x a m p l es w h e r e p r e fe re n ce s f o r

lower Acces sib il ity fo rms ( to use m y te rmino logy) a re a t work .

W h y , t h e n , d o e s t h e s p e a k e r b o t h e r t o u s e a p r o n o u n w h e n i t i s r e d u n d a n t ?

Th is i s e spec ia l ly puzz l ing in cases, such as in H ebrew , where the ch o ice

b e t w e en a n o v e r t p r o n o u n a n d a z e r o f o r m e n t a i ls n o d i f fe r en c e s i n t h e

i n f o r m a t i o n s u p p l i e d o n t h e r e f e r e n t i n t e n d e d b y t h e s p e a k e r ( t h i s i s s o

b e c a u s e t h e v e r b o f t e n i n c o r p o r a t e s t h e s a m e g e n d e r n u m b e r a n d p e r s o n

d i s t inc t ions as the p ron om ina l sys tem) . I sugges t tha t A cces s ib il i ty theo ry can

p r o v i d e a n a c c o u n t f o r t h is p h e n o m e n o n . R e l y i n g o n e x a m p l e s fr o m H e b r e w ,

i t w il l be show n tha t once the A cces s ib i li ty o f a g iven an tec ede n t i s s een as

re la t ive ly low , spea ker p re fe r s to use the r e la tive ly lower Acces s ib i li ty m arke r ,

a p ro no un in th i s case . s

- A n o t h e r d i s a d v a n t a g e o f t h e A v o i d P r o n o u n p r i n c ip l e i s t h a t i t is t o o s p ec if ic . T h e s a m e

r e g u l a r it y r e s p o n s i b l e f o r C - p r o n o u n d i s t r ib u t i o n s i s r e s p o n s i b le f o r o t h e r f o r m s : i n t e r m e d i a t e

p r o n o m i n a l f o r m s ( t o b e d i s c u s s e d b e l o w ) , ¢1 v s . re f l e x iv e s , p r o n o u n s v s . r ef l ex i v e s , p r o n o u n s v s .

de i c t i e s , e t c .

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  5 M Ariel /Accessibi l i ty

4.2. An analysis o f zero subjects und er accessibi li ty theory

M y c l a s s i f i ca t i o n fo r ze ro s u b j ec t s i n t en s ed c l au s es ( I w i l l n o t r e f e r t o n o n -

t e n s e d c l a u s e s a t a l l h e r e ) i s d i f f e r e n t f r o m t h e o n e c u r r e n t l y a s s u m e d i n t h e

G B l i t e r a t u r e . G B p r o p o n e n t s d i s t i n g u i s h b e t w e e n

pro s

a n d z e r o t o p i c s , a n d

p r o p o s e a n a c c o u n t o n l y f o r pro s. T h e r e a s o n i s t h a t s o - c a l l e d z e r o t o p i c s

r e q u i re a p r a g m a t i c a c c o u n t a n y w a y . F r o m t h e p o i n t o f v ie w o f A c c es s ib i li ty

t h e o r y , w h o s e c o n c e r n is w i th n o n - g r a m m a t i c a l p a t t e r n s o f d i s tr i b u ti o n , t h e re

i s n o c r u c i a l d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n t h e t w o g r a m m a t i c a l p h e n o m e n a . B o t h , I

c l a im , a r e s u b j ec t t o Acces s ib i l i t y t h eo ry .

H o w e v e r , I t o o d i s t i n g u i s h b e t w e e n v a r i o u s e m p t y s u b j e c t s l o t s . A l t h o u g h

i n t h e r e l e v a n t e x a m p l e s t o b e d i s c u s s e d b e l o w t h e s u b j e c t s l o t i s e m p t y , t h e

s e n t e n c e s d i f f e r i n t h a t s o m e m a y h a v e a g r e e m e n t m a r k e r s w h i c h c a n i d e n t i f y

th e r e fe ren t o f t h e s u b j ec t . T h e r e l ev a n t Acces s ib i l it y m a rk e r i s , t h e re fo re , n o t

t h e z e ro s u b je c t, b u t r a t h e r , t h e t y p e o f th e a g r e e m e n t m a r k e r . A g r e e m e n t

m a r k e r s v a r y b o t h a c r o s s a n d w i t h i n l a n g a a g e s y s t e m s .

L e t u s ex am in e t h e p red i c t i o n s o f Acces s ib i li t y th eo ry , r eg a rd in g t h e v a r i o u s

A g r e e m e n t m a r k e r s . A s w i l l b e r e m e m b e r e d , A c c e s s i b i l i t y t h e o r y d i c t a t e s a

co d in g p r i n c ip l e w h ich a s s ig n s r e la t i v e d eg ree s o f Ac ces s ib i li t y t o v a r i o u s

f o r m s . I t al s o d ic t a t e s t h e a c t u a l d i s t r i b u t i o n o f s u c h e x p r e s s io n s , r e l y i n g o n

th e p s y ch o l i n g u i s t i c f ac to r s i d en t i f i ed a s a f f ec t i n g d eg ree o f Acces s ib i l i t y .

A p p ly in g t h e A cces s ib i li t y co d in g p r i n c ip l e s ( i n fo rm a t iv i t y , r i g id i ty an d a t t en u a -

t i o n ) , we ex p ec t t h e f~ l l o win g s ca l e :

(9)

T r u e 0

P o o r A G R

R i c h A G R

( n o a g r e e m e n t a t a l l , a s i n C h i n e s e )

( g e n d e r a n d n u m b e r i n f l e c t i o n , b u t n o p e r s o n m a r k e r , a s

i n H e b r e w p r e s e n t t e n s e )

( I t a l i a n i n fl e ct io n , w h e r e g e n d e r , n u m b e r a n d p e r s o n

a r e m a r k e d ) .

A l t h o u g h t h e m e r e e x is t en c e o f te n s e i n fl e c ti o n s d o e s n o t g u a r a n t e e z e r o

s u b j ec t o p t i o n a l i t y ( e . g . , F ren ch ) , g iv en t h e p o s s ib i l i t y t o h av e em p ty s u b j ec t s ,

we s h o u ld ex p ec t i t s d i s t r i b u t i o n t o o b ey Acces s ib i l i t y t h eo ry . B as ed o n t h e

s c a l e i n ( 9 ) , w e d e r i v e t h e f o l l o w i n g u n i v e r s a l C o n s t r a i n t o n D i s t r i b u t i o n :

( 1 0 ) T h e g r a m m a r i s n o t e x p e c t e d t o a l l o w z e r o s u b j e c t s w i t h h i g h e r b u t n o t

l o wer Acces s ib i l i t y m ark e r s .

I n o t h e r w o r d s , I p r e d i c t t h a t n o l a n g u a g e a l l o w s z e r o s u b j e c t s w i t h n o

i n f l e c t i o n w h a t s o e v e r , b u t d o e s n o t a l l o w z e r o s u b j e c t s t o o c c u r w h e n A G R is

p a r t i a l l y o r f id l y in f o r m a t i v e .

F a c t o r s r e l a t e d t o t h e n a t u r e o f t h e a n t e c e d e n t a l s o p l a y a r o l e i n s e n t e n c e -

l e v e l a n a p h o r a . S i n c e a n t e c e d e n t p r o m i n e n c e f a c i l i t a t e s i t s b e i n g a p r e f e r r e d

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M A r i e l / A c c e s s i b i l it y 55

a n t e c e d e n t , t h e p r e d i c t i o n is t h a t p r o m i n e n t a n t e c e d e n t s t e n d t o b e r e fe r re d t o

us ing r e la tive ly h igh er Acces s ib i li ty m arker s . P ro m ine n t an teced en t s w i th in

t h e S b o u n d a r y m a y b e s u b je c ts , to p i c s, h u m a n s , s p e a k e r a n d a d d re s se e . T h e

der ived un ive r sa l i s:

( ) N o l a n g u a g e i s p r e d ic t e d to a l l o w th e u s e o f a h i g h A c c e s si b il it y m a r k e r

w i t h a n ' i n f e r i o r ' a n t e c e d e n t , w h i l e g r a m m a t i c a l l y d i s a l l o w i n g i t s u s e

w i t h a p r o m i n e n t a n te c e d e n t .

T h u s , p r e f e r e n c e s f o r s u b j e c t s o v e r o b j e c t s i n a n a p h o r i c i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s a r e

seen as p re fe rences fo r the m ore acces s ib le an teced en t . S im i la r ly , the imposs i -

b i l it y ( in s o m e l a n g u a g e s ) o f u s i n g a n e m p t y p r o n o u n f o r 3 r d p e r s o n r e f e re n t s,

when i t i s a l lowed fo r 1 s t and 2nd pe r son r e fe ren t s fo l lows f rom the f ac t tha t

I s t and 2nd p e r son r e fe ren t s con s t i tu te mo re access ib le r ep rese n ta t ions tha n

those o f 3 rd pe r son r e fe ren t s .

L a s t , f a c to r s r e la t e d t o t h e n a t u r e o f t h e r e l a t i o n b e tw e e n t h e a n t e c e d e n t

a n d t h e a n a p h o r ( t h e u n i t y c ri t e r io n ) a re a l s o f u n c t i o n a l in s e n t e n c e a n a p h o r a .

Th e r e levan t un ive r sa l is l is t ed be low :

1 2 )

Given a d i f f e rence in d i s t ance o r in the degree o f cohes ion be tween the

u n i t s i n v o l v e d ( t h e o n e c o n t a i n i n g th e a n t e c e d e n t a n d t h e o n e c o n t a i n i n g

t h e a n a p h o r ) - e .g . e m b e d d i n g v s . c o n j o i n i n g - w e s h o u l d e x p e ct n o

language to a l low the use o f the h igh er Acces s ib i li ty m ark er in the l e s s

cohe s ive /m ore d i s t a n t case bu t n o t in the mo re cohes ive /c lose r case .

Thus , no l anguage i s expec ted to a l low O ' s be tween two con jo ined S ' s , bu t no t

be tween a m a t r ix and i t s em bedde d c lause , fo r example . In th e nex t s ec tion we

focus on Hebrew, fo r wh ich we wi l l subs tan t i a t e the above c la ims .

4 3 Heb rew: A tes t case fo r access ib il i ty theory

H e b r e w h a s a v a r i e t y o f f o r m s r e l e v a n t t o t h e d i s c u s s i o n a t h a n d : f u l l

p r o n o u n s , c l i t i c i z e d p r o n o u n s , ' p r o n o m i n a l ' A G R ( i .e . , as info rm at iv e as a

p r o n o u n ) , ' a n a p h o r i c ' A G R ( w h e r e t h e v e r b m a r k s n u m b e r a n d g e n d e r o n l y )

a n d ' d e g e n e r a t e ' A G R ( p a r t i a ll y a m b i g u o u s f o r m s ). I n a d d i t i o n , I h a v e f o u n d

d is t r ibu t io na l d i f fe rences am on g : 1st and 2nd pe r son r e fe rences vs. 3 rd pe r son

references and pas t tense vs . fu ture tense inf lec t ions . I sugges t tha t a l l the

r e l e v a n t d i s t i n c t i o n s c a n b e s e e n a s f o l l o w i n g f r o m t h e c o d i n g p r i n c i p l e o f

Acces s ib i li ty theo ry . W e p roce ed to c la s s i fy the r e levan t fo rms ac cord in g to

Acces s ib i li ty the o ry .

Ap p ly ing the in fo rm at iv i t y c r i t e r ion , we can d iv ide the fo rm s as in t ab le 5 .

T h e f o r m s o n t h e l e f t - h a n d s i d e c o n t a i n m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e a n t e c e -

d e n t , i n c o r p o r a t i n g p e rs o n , g e n d e r a n d n u m b e r m a r k e r s .

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Table 5

The effect of informativity.

M A r i e l / A c c e s s i b i l i ty

INF OR M AT IVE (+ person gender number) 'PO OR ' (+ gender & number , -pe rso n)

Full pronouns (Ist, 2rid, 3rd)

Cliticized pronouns (same)

Pronominal ' AGR (Ist & 2nd person

past and future)

'Anaphoric ' AGR (3rd person)

'Degenerate ' AGR (present tense)

Ap plying the r ig id ity cr i ter ion , we can d is t inguish the two poor ' express ions:

3 rd pe r son ( ' anaphor i c ' AGR versus present tense AGR. While in the former

person is not marked, i t is st i l l uniquely identif ied. The lat ter is t ruly

am biguou s. ( I 3) has the re levant exam ples:

(13a) 0 halax; 0 halxa

~,ent-he went-she

VS.

(13b) 0 holex; 0 holexet

go- I (masc .) /you (masc .) /he go- I ( fem.) /you(fem .) / she

In add i t ion , some o f the fo rms on the l e f t -hand s ide o f t ab le 5 can be

d i s t i n g u i sh e d f i o m o n ~ a n o t h e r : i s t a n d 2 n d p e r so n p r o n o u n s ( a n d c l i t i -

c i z e d p r o u n o u n s ) r e f e r t o u n i q u e l y d e t e r m i n e d r e f e r e n t s ( sp e a k e r a n d

addressee ) , wh i le 3 rd pe r son p ron ou ns ( and c l it ic i zed p ro nou ns) r e f e r t o

a n y r e f e r e n t c o m p a t i b l e w i t h t h e g r a m m a t i c a l c o n s t r a i n t s . Th e d i f f e r e n c e s

to be no ted be low be tween ~) sub jec t d i s t r ibu t ion in pas t v e r sus fu tu re

in f lec t ions i s t o be acco un ted fo r by re f e r ence to the t r an spa ren cy o f pas t

t ense pe r son in f l ec t io r . s . I n f ac t t hese a r e shor t ened p ronouns ( l ack ing on ly

the in i t ia l vowel [a] (eg . , ata, -ta ' y o u - m a sc . ' ) . P e r so n m a r k e r s i n f u t u r e

t e n se i n f l e c t i o n s a r e o p a q u e , a n d so m e t i m e s d i s c o n t i n u o u s . A l t h o u g h t h e y

t o o a r e p r o b a b l y d e r i v e d f r o m p r o n o u n s , t h e p r o n o u n s a r e n o l o n g e r

identif iable. 6

Final ly , applying a t ten uat ion , we get the fo l lowing scale :

(14) Fu ll P ronouns > Clitic ized P rono uns > 'P ronom ina l ' AG R ( I s t and

2nd person in fu ture and past tenses)

W e thus end up w i th the fo llowing Accessibi li ty h ierarchy for H ebrew :

The reason is that historically, future tense inflectioas by far pr~ate past tense inflections.

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457

( 15 A cces s ib il it y H ie ra rch y :

F u l l p r o n o u n ( I s t > 2 n d > 3 r d )

C l it ic i ze d p r o n o u n ( I s t > 2 n d > 3 r d )

Pas t t en s e p e r s o n i n f lec t io n ( i s t > 2 n d )

F u t u r e t e n s e p e r s o n i n f le c ti o n ( l s t > 2 n d )

T h i r d p e r s o n in f le c t io n ( P a s t > F u t u r e )

' D e g e n e r a t e ' A G R ( P r e s e n t t e n s e A G R )

I s h a l l n ex t p re s e n t ev id en ce i n s u p p o r t o f t h e Acces s ib i l it y H ie ra rch y i n (1 5 ).

T h e e v i d e n c e w i l l b e o f t w o t y p e s : i n t u i t i o n s c o n c e r n i n g a c c e p t a b i l i t y j u d g -

m e n t s , a n d p a t t e r n s o f d i s t r ib u t i o n i n a c t u a l d i s c o u r se . W e s t a r t w i th j u d g -

m e n t s c o n c e r n i n g s e n t e n c e s i n t h e a b s t r a c t .

A s p l i t an t eced en t i s an i n fe r i o r an t eced en t . I t i s n o t a s s a l i en t a s a s i n g l e

a n t e c e d e n t . I n d e e d , B o r e r ( 1 9 8 5 ) f i n d s t h a t w h i l e a n ' a n a p h o r i c ' AGR ( 3 r d

p e r s o n i n f l e c t i o n ) c a n i n g e n e r a l b e a n a p h o r i c a c r o s s S b o u n d a r i e s ( 1 6 a ) ,

wh en t h e an t eced en t i s a s p l i t o n e (1 6 b ) t h e s en t en ce i s u n accep t ab l e ( (1 6 ) an d

( I 7 ) a r e B o r e r 's e x a m p l e s a n d j u d g m e n t s ) :

(1 6 a ) T a li la~ am ra l e - i t a m aq ~ e- Om h i c l ix a /h i c l iax .

T a l i l a s a id t o - l t am ar t h a t [ s h e /h e ] s u cceed ed .

VS

(1 6 b ) * T a l i la i am ra l e - i t am ar j ~ e- O i+ j h i c li x u .

T a l i l a [d id ] s a id t o - I t a m ar t h a t [ th ey ] s u cceed ed .

N o t e , h o w e v e r , t h a t a n a n a p h o r i c r e f e r e n c e t o a s p l i t a n t e c e d e n t i s p o s s i b l e

w i t h a l o w e r A c c e s s i b i l i t y m a r k e r ( a ' p r o n o m i n a l ' AGR 1 s t o r 2 n d p e r s o n

in f lec t ion) :

( 1 7) T a l il a i I o s i p r a l e xa j ~ ,e - O ~ . j h u z m a n t e m l a - m e s i b a .

T a l i l a n o t t el l y o u t h a t [ s h e y o u ] were - i n v i t ed t o - t h e p a r t y .

T h i s i s p rec is e ly th e p red i c t i o n o f Acces s ib i l i ty t h eo ry . A l o w er Acces s ib i l it y

m ar k e r can b e an ap h o r i c ~o a r e l a ti v e ly le s s acces s ib l e an t ec ed e n t fo r it s i g n a l s

t o t h e ad d re s s ee t h a t t h e an t eced en t i s l e s s t h an h ig h ly acces s ib l e .

T h a t t h e b a n o n a l i n k b e t w e e n a n ' a n a p h o r i c ' A G R a n d s p l i t a n t e c e d e n t s

i s n m g ra~ 'm n a tic :0 1 can b e s een f ro m th e fo l l o w in g ex am p le . O n ce we r a i s e t h e

Acces s ib i li ty . of t h e s p l i t an t ece d en t b y t i g h t en in g t h e u n i t y o f t h e tw o c l au s es ,

a n a p h o r i c A G R c a n b e a n a p h o r i c t o t h e i n f e r i o r s p l i t a n t e c e d e n t ( i t i s t h e

v e r b s o f s a y i n g w h i c h b l o c k t h e a n a p h o r i c r e l a ti o n i n th e e x a m p l e s f r o m

B o re r , I c l a im ) :

8/15/2019 Ariel 1991

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  58 M Ar iel / Accessibil ity

(1 8 a )

N o g a

N o g a

O

[ they]

b i k r a e t ~ i m o n - a l m a a m a r o h a - g u v e n is t i k ~e -

c r it ic i ze d A C C S i m o n a b o u t h i s a r t ic l e c h a u v i n i s t ic w h e n

n a s u l i - y r u g a l a i m .

w e n t t o J e r u s a l e m .

18b)

N o g a b ik ~ a m i - g im o n g e - h a - p a a m O y e c u

N o g a a s k e d f r o m S i m o n t h a t t h i s t i m e [ th e y] w i l l- le a v e

l a - m e s i b a b a - z m a n .

f o r - t h e p a r t y o n t i m e .

N o t e t h a t a s t r o n g s e m a n t i c c o n n e c t i o n e n a b l e s u s t o u s e a n a n a p h o r i c A G R

( 3 r d p e r s o n p a s t a n d f u t u r e i n f l e c t i o n s ) a c r o s s c o n j o i n e d S ' s ( 1 9 a & b ) , a l i n k

w h i c h i s f o r b i d d e n u n d e r B o r e r ' s g r a m m a t i c a l a n a l y s i s . T o s e e t h a t i t i s t h e

s e m a n t i c / p r a g m a t i c c o n n e c t i o n w h i c h e n a b l e s su c h c ro s s i n g o f c o n j u n c t i o n s ,

c o n t r a s t a & b w i t h t h e u n a c c e p t a b l e c :

(1 9 a )

(1 9 b )

(19c)

H a y o m n o g a h i tx il a i m - f i m o n , u - l e -d a a ti m a x a r

T o d a y N o g a m a d e a p a s s a t S i m o n , a n d t o m y m i n d t o m o r r o w

0 t a tx i l im d av id .

[s he ] w i l l - m a k e - a p a s s a t D a v i d .

N o g a a r z a e t h a - m i z v a d a b e - i ti y u t , v e - la x e n a x ~ a v

N o g a p a c k e d A C C h e r s u it ca s e s lo w l y , a n d t h e r e f o re n o w

l e - c a a r a h a - r a v , 0 t e a e c l a - r u c i e - t a x a n a t h a - r a k e v e t .

m u ch t o h e r ch ag r in , [ s h e ] w i l l -h av e t o ru n t o t h e t r a i n - s t a t i o n .

? ? N o g a d i b ra i m f im o n m e m u ~ a x o t v e- 0 y a a z o r / t a a z o r

N o g a s p o k e w i t h S i m o n a l o t, a n d [ h e/ sh e ] w i ll h e l p

l a /l o l is x o v e t h a - m i z v a d a l e - t a x a n a t h a - r a k e v e t

h e r / h i m c a r r y A C C t h e s u i tc a s e t o t h e t r a i n - S t a t i o n

M o r e o v e r , i n a h i g h l y c o h e s i v e c l a u s a l c o n n e c t i o n , s p l i t a n t e c e d e n t a n a p h o r a

i s a l s o p o s s i b l e a c r o s s c o n j u n c t s ( 2 0 a ) u s i n g a n ' a n a p h o r i c '

AGR

I n o r d e r t o

s e e t h a t s u c h a l in k a c r o s s a c o n j u n c t i o n is a l l o w e d o n l y b e c a u s e o f t h e h ig h

c o n n e c t i v i t y i n ( 2 0 a ) , c o n t r a s t ( 2 0 a ) w i t h ( 2 0 b ) , w h e r e n o s t r o n g s e m a n t i c

co n n ec t i o n ex i st s. T h e l a t t e r is i n d eed u n ac cep t ab l e :

(2 0 a )

(2 0 b )

R a k l if n e y x o d e ~ , n o g a h i t x a t n a i m g i m o n , u - x v a r

O n l y a m o n t h a g o N o g a g o t - m a r r i e d w i t h S i m o n , a n d - a l re a d y

ba -sh av ua ge-a var 0 h itgar~,u.

l a s t we ek [ th ey ] g o t -d iv o rced .

* N o g a d i b r a i m g i m o n y a f e , ve - 0 y i s x a v u y a x a d e t

N o g a s p o k e w i t h S i m o n n i c el y , a n d [ th e y ] w i l l- c a r r y t o g e t h e r ,~ C C

h a - m i z v a d a h a - k w : d a l e - ta x a n a t h a - r a k e v e t .

t h e h e a v y s u i tc a s e t o t h e t r a i n - s t a t i o n

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M A r i e l / A c c e s s i b i li t y 459

F i n a l l y , a s r i g h t ly o b s e r v e d b y B o r e r ( 19 85 ), b o t h a ' D e g e n e r a t e ' A G R

( p r e s e n t t en s e i n f le c t io n ) a n d a n a n a p h o r i c ' A G R ( 3 rd p e r s o n p a s t & f u tu r e

in f lec t i ons ) ca nn o t r e fe r de i c t ica l l y :

( 2 1 a) * 0 / a n i / a t / h i r o a k o l s e re t ~ , al og p e a m i m .

I / you / she s ee every mov ie t h ree t imes .

(21b) *0/h i raa ta kol sere t g, io~, pea m im .

she s aw every mov ie t h ree t imes .

N o t e t h a t i n l in e w i t h A c c e s si b il it y t h e o r y , ' P r o n o m i n a l ' A G R ( l s t and 2 r i d

per son fu tu re a nd pas t i n f lec t ions ) , wh ich i s a l ower Acce s s ib i li t y m arker , i s

a l l o w e d u n d e r s u c h c i r c u m s t a n c e s :

(21c) 0 r a i t i / r a i t / e r e / t i r i kol sere t galog pea m im.

I / you saw/wi l l s ee every mo v ie t h ree times .

W e n o w m o v e t o s u p p o r t i n g e v i d e n c e w h i c h c o m e s f r o m a c t u a l d a t a . T h e

d i f fe rence in Acc es s ib i li t y be tween a fu l l ve r sus a c l it ic i zed p ron ou n (m arked

by an apos t rophe) can be s een i n (22 ) . In (22a) , t he t op i c i s r e fe r red t o u s ing a

c l i t i c i zed p ronoun ( l s t pe r son i n t h i s case ) , bu t when t he d i s course t op i c (o r

f rame) sh i f t s , speaker changes t o a fu l l p ronoun . In (22b) , we s ee a s imi l a r

p h e n o m e n o n w i t h a t h i r d p e r s o n r e f e re n t . S p e a k e r s t a r ts b y c o n t r a s t i n g a

n a m e ( a l o w A c c e s s i b il it y m a r k e r ) f o r t h e n o n - t o p i c v e r s u s a f u l l p r o n o u n f o r

t he t op i c , and l a t e r , a fu ll p ro no un se rves t o r e fe r t o t he acces s ib l e t hou gh

n o n - t o p i c e n t i t y

( N u b a r = j ) ,

whi l e a c l i t i c i zed p ronoun i s u sed fo r t he

acces s ib l e en t i t y wh ich i s a l so t he t op i c ( i ndexed by i ): 7

(22a)

(22b)

Anixogev . . .

a n

oc i o to be -yo m shen i ,

a n

1o yo de a . . .

I t h ink . . . I ' w i ll p r i n t i t on M on da y , I ' do n ' t kno w . ..

[ C h a n g e o f D i s c o u r s e T o p i c ] :

a n i

xogev ge-u lay an i ec tarex

I t h i n k t h a t m a y b e I w i l l- h a v e

l i -nsoa le- lo nd on be-y ore ~ ,eni.

t o g o t o L o n d o n o n M o n d a y .

H u l

d iber

i m n u b a r j , n u b a r j

a m a r . . .

n u b a r j

h a y a . .. h ' l p a s h u t d i b e r

H e s p o k e t o N u b a r . N u b a r s a id . .. N u b a r w a s . .. H e ' s i m p l y s p o k e

i t o j. hu e xasav kge hu j . . .

t o - h i m , h e t h o u g h t w h e n h e . . .

T h e f o ll o w i n g e x a m p l e s s h o w t h e s e n s i ti v i ty o f t h e 0 / p r o n o u n c h o i ce t o

ques t i ons o f un i t y . (23a) and (23b) a re p rac t i ca l l y a min imal pa i r , t aken f rom

the s ame s to ry . Al l a l on g t he s t o ry , t he n a r r a to r i s ex t rem ely acces s ib l e . S he

The da t a fo r spoken Hebrew he re and e l sewhe re i n t h i s pape r i s ba sed on a t aped k i t chen

conv e rsa t i on be t ween wi fe and husb and ( Jan . 8 , 1987).

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4 6 0 M Ar iel / Accessibil ity

c o n s t i t u te s t h e d is c o u r s e t o p ic . T h i s i s w h y t h e t r a n s l a t o r m o s t l y c h o s e O 's f o r

t h e o r i g in a l E n g l i s h L T h e i n t e re s t i n g d i f f e ren ce i s t h e o n e b e tween t h e

u n d e r l i n e d 0 v s . p r o n o u n . I n b o t h c a s e s , t h e p r e v i o u s d i s c o u r s e t o p i c i s t h e

m o t h e r , r a t h e r t h a n t h e n a r r a t o r . S t i l l , i n ( 2 3 a ) s h e r e s u m e s t a l k i n g a b o u t

h e r s e l f u s in g a 0 . In (2 3 b ) , a fu ll p r o n o u n i s u s ed fo r t h e s am e r e fe ren t .

N e i t h e r d i s t a n c e n o r t o p i c a l i t y c a n e x p l a i n t h e d i f f e r e n c e . I s u g g e s t t h e r e a s o n

is t h e s h a r p s h i f t in t h e n a t u r e o f t h e f l o w o f e v e n t s w h i c h d i c t a t e s t h e

d i f f e ren t s t r a t eg y : s

(2 3 a )

(23b)

Z e h a y a d a v a r E el m a b ex ax b i~ v il y a ld a o i~ a l e- h ean es .

I t w a s n o t h i n g f o r ( a ) g i rl o r ( a ) w o m a n t o g e t r a p e d .

an i acm i n een a s t i , k ~ e- 0 h ay i t i b a t ~ tem es re .

I m y s e l f w a s r a p e d , w h e n [ I] w a s t w e l v e y e a r s o l d

i m a a f p a a m 1o y a d a a , u - 0 m e o l a m 1 o s i p a r ti l e- iL ( W a l k e r 1 98 5)

M a m a n e v e r k n e w , a n d [I] n e v e r t o ld a n y b o d y .

H u p ag u t h im ~ ix l e -n as o t l e - al ec o t i l a - ce t i t o , v e - l i f am im ,

H e j u s t k e p t t ry i n g t o m a k e m e g o w i t h - h im , a n d s o m e t im e s ,

m i - t o x h e rg e l , an i x o g ev e t, 0 h a l a x t i i t o . g u f i a s a m a ~ e

o u t o f h a b i t , I g u e s s, [ I] w e n t w i t h - h i m . M y b o d y d i d w h a t ( it )

~ 'a lam ~e yaa se , ve- im a m eta .

ve ani

h a r a g t i

w a s - b e i n g - p a i d t o d o . A n d M o t h e r d ie d . A n d I k i ll e d

e t b u b a . ( W a l k e r 1 98 5)

A C C B u b b a .

I f o u n d t h a t e x a m p l e s l i ke t h es e a r e s t a ti s ti c a l ly s i g n if ic a n t . I n m y d a t a f o r

s p o k e n H e b r e w , o n l y 1 7 .5 o f t h e p a s t te n s e v e r bs w e r e a c c o m p a n i e d b y

o v e r t p r o n o u n s . A l l o f t h e m a r e o f t h e ( b ) t y p e , i. e., m a n i f e s t i n g a r e l a ti v e ly

l o w u n i t y b e t w e e n a n t e c e d e n t a n d a n a p h o r c l a u s e s .

T h e d i ff e re n c e b e t w e e n p a s t v e r s u s f u t u r e p e r s o n i n fl e c ti o n s i s m a i n l y

r e v e a l e d i n t h e f r e q u e n c y o f a l l o w i n g 0 s u b je c t s. I n s p o k e n H e b r e w , 8 2 . 5 o f

t h e c a s e s h a d a 0 r a t h e r t h a n a 1 s t o r 2 n d p e r s o n p r o n o u n i n p a s t t e n s e

i n f l e c t i o n s N o z e r o s o c c u r r e d i n f u t u r e i n f l e c t i o n s . I n l i t e r a r y H e b r e w , t h e

g a p i s s m a l l e r : 9 0 ~ ' s i n p a s t , 7 6 . 5 i n f u t u r e . T h i s i s n o t a g r a m m a t i c a l

' f i n d i n g ' , b u t t h e l a r g e g a p i n p o p u l a r i t y d o e s m e a n t h a t s p e a k e r s d i s t i n g u i s h

b e tween p as t a r i d fu tu re i n f l ec t i o n s .

E v e n ' a n a p h o r i c '

AGR

( 3 r d p e r s o n p a s t / f u t u r e i n f l e c t i o n ) ( i n 2 4 a )

a n d a ' d e g e n e r a t e ' AGR ( p r e s e n t t e n s e ) ( 2 4 b , c , d ) c a n r e f e r e x t r a -

s en t en t i a l l y , p ro v id ed t h e an t eced en t i s h ig h ly s a l i en t , a t o p i c i n t h e fo l l o win g

e x a m p l e s :

s S e e n o t e s I a n d 3 a n d f o r p r ec i s e r e f e re n c e s o f w r i tt e n H e b r e w e x a m p l e s , i h a v e s p e ci fi e d t h e

a u t h o r s n a m e a t t h e e n d o f e a c h e x a m p l e .

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M Arie l / Access ib i li ty 461

(2 4 a )

24b)

(24e)

(2 4 d )

H u m i t x a t e n , b u b a [ el b a x u r a , g h a y t a g a m y a x a d i t o . . , b e t e n

H e i s m ar r y in g . A d a r l i n g g i r l. [ sh e] w as t h e re w i th h im . . , l i tt l e

g tuxa-- ¢~ u la y ba t 22 , av a l n i re t ba t 17. (P a le y 980) .

t u m m y - - [ sh e] m u s t b e 2 2 , b u t l o o k s s ev en teen .

B a - z m a n h a - a x a r o n a n i m i t o r e r e t b e- ~ ev a , a n i m e n a s a li-~ ,o n.

R ec en t l y I w ak c -u p a t s ev en . I t ry t o s leep .

b e - d e r e × - kl a l ~ m i t y ae ~ e t. ( S p o k e n H e b r e w ) .

U s u a l l y [ I] g iv e u p

a f p a a m i o m o c e k a n k l u m i i- ~ to t . ..

[ I] N e v e r f i n d h e r e a n y t h i n g t o d r i n k . ..

( L i t e r a r y H e b r e w ) ( P a l e y 1 9 8 0 )

K o g a d o l ~ uv h a - m e r x a k b e y n eh e m . ~ m e d a b r i m

S o l a r g e [ is ] a g a i n t h e d i s t a n c e b e t w e e n t h e m . [ T h e y ] s p e a k

b e - m i li m t e o m o t u - m e x a v n i m l i -d v a r i m a x e r i m .

c o m p a t i b l e w o r d s a n d m e a a d i ff e r en t t h in g s.

( L i t e r a r y H e b r e w ) ( S a v i o n L i e b r e c h t ,

Apples rom the Desert

9 8 6 ; T e l -

A v i v : S i f ri y a t H a - P o a l i m )

T h e a b o v e h a v e b e e n a s e le c t io n o f e x a m p l e s a i m e d a t s h o w i n g t h a t O

p r o n o u n c h o i c e s a r e a c t u a l l y ch o i c e s a m o n g a r i c h e r v a r i e t y o f f o r m s , e a c h

s p ec i a l i zed fo r a d i f f e ren t d eg ree o f Acces s ib i l i t y , wh ich d i c t a t e s i t s d i s t r i b u -

t i o n . M o r e d a t a c a n b e f o u n d i n A r i e l ( 1 9 9 0 ) , w h e r e t h e e v i d e n c e r e g a r d i n g

s e n te n c e -l e ve l a n a p h o r a i s n o t l i m i t e d t o H e b r e w , n o r t o

O/pro

cho ices .

R e g a r d i n g t h e l a t t e r , t h e c l a i m i s t h a t C h i n e s e z e r o s u b j e c t s , f o r e x a m p l e , a r e

n o t q u i t e a s f re e a s is o f t e n a s s u m e d . F o r g r a m m a r i a n s i t is o f th e u t m o s t

i m p o r t a n c e t h a t C h i n es e O 's c a n r e f e r e x t r a - t e x t u a l l y T h a t f e a t u re i m m e d i -

a t e ly t u rn s ( s o m e ) O 's i n to a n e x t r a - g r a m m a t i c a l p h e n o m e n o n , n o t t o b e

h a n d l e d b y th e g r a m m a r . H o w e v e r , t h e m e r e f a c t t h a t s u c h O 's c a n r e f e r

d e i c t i c a l l y d o e s n o t m e a n t h a t t h e y a r e c o m p l e t e l y f r e e . A c t u a l l y t h e y t o o a r e

h eav i l y r e s t r i c t ed - t o h ig h ly s a l i en t o b j ec t s f ro m th e d i s co u r s e s e t t i n g , t o

t o p ic s , s p e a k e r o r a d d r e s s e e . A s s u c h , t h e y a r e n o t a s d if f e r e n t f r o m t h e

H e b r e w O ' s . E v e n E n g l i s h , I w o u l d c l a i m , i s n o t a s d i f f e r e n t f r o m C h i n e s e a s

g r a m m a r i a n s m a k e i t o u t t o b e ( o n t h i s p o i n t ) . E n g l i s h a n d C h i n e s e a l l o w O ' s

u n d e r t h e s a m e c i r c u m s t a n c e s , e x c e p t t h a t i n E n g l i sh O 's a r e m a r k e d . T h e

f o l lo w i n g s h o w s t h a t E n g l i s h t o o a l l o w s e x t r a - t e x t u a l r e f e r e n c e s b y 0 :

( 2 5 ) C a r e f u l 0 c o n t a i n s M e t h a n o l ( f r o m S a d o c k 1 97 4)

5 In conc lus ion

I h a v e a r g u e d t h a t t h e A c c e s s ib i li ty o f r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s t o a d d r e s se e s i s a

c o g n i t i v e s t a t u s t a k e n i n t o a c c o u n t b y s p e a k e r s . I n f a c t , c o n t e x t - r e t r i e v i n g

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46 M A r i e l / A c c e s s i b i l i t y

e x p r e s s i o n s , d e f i n i t e N P s a m o n g t h e m , a r e e x p r e s s i o n s e a c h s p e c i a l i z e d f o r a

s pe c if ic de g re e o f m e m or y A c c e s s i b il i ty . A c c e s s i b i li t y , t he r e fo r e , i s no t on l y a

c og n i t i ve c onc e p t . I t i s a l ingu i s t ic f e a t u r e . I n s e c t i on 3 , I p ro po s e d t ha t t he

c o d i f i c a ti o n o f t h e c o g n i t iv e c o n c e p t i n t o l i n g u i st ic f o r m i s m e d i a t e d f o r t h e

l a r g e p a r t ( e x c l u d i n g m a r k e d n e s s c o n s i d e r a t i o n s ) b y t h r e e c r i t e r i a : i n f o r m a t i -

v i ty , ri g id i t y a n d a t t e n u a t i o n . A l t h o u g h a u n i v e r s a l s c a le o f A c c e s s i b il it y is

p r e d i c t e d , e a c h l a n g u a g e c a r v e s i t s p a r t i c u l a r s c a l e , e x c l u d i n g t h o s e e x p r e s -

s i o n s i t h a s n o c o r r e l a t e s f o r , a n d e s t a b l i s h i n g p r e f e r r e d ( u n m a r k e d ) f o r m s

v e r s u s m a r g i n a l ( m a r k e d ) f o r m s .

S e c ti o n 2 p r o v i d e d s o m e e x a m p l e s f r o m d i s co u r s e a n a p h o r a . S e c ti o n 4 w a s

d e v o t e d t o a r g u i n g t h a t t h e s c a le o f A c c e s s i b il it y m a r k i n g i s e s s e n ti a l n o t o n l y

f o r d i sc o u r s e a n a p h o r a . S e n t en t ia l a n a p h o r a o b e y s A c c e ss ib i li ty t h e o r y t o o . I

h a v e m a i n l y c o n c e n t r a t e d o n o p t i o n a l c h o i c es r e g a r d i n g b o t h d i s co u r s e a n d

s e n te n t ia l a n a p h o r a , a r g u i n g t h a t s p e a k e r s m a k e c o n s i s te n t c h o i c es i n t h e ir

a n a p h o r i c e x p r e s s i o n s , f a v o r i n g r e l a t i v e l y h i g h e r A c c e s s i b i l i t y m a r k e r s w h e n

a n t e c e d e r , t is h i g h l y a v a i l a b l e ( w h e n i t i s a t o p i c , o r w h e n t h e a n a p h o r a p p e a r s

i n a u n i t h i g h l y c o n n e c t e d t o t h e o r e w h e r e t h e a n t e c e d e n ~ o c c u r r e d , e t c . ) .

T h e o n l y s t ri ct ly g r a m m a t i c a l p oJ n t I m a d e w a s th e p r o p o s a l t h a t l a n g u a g e s

a r e r e s t r i c t e d i n h o w ' l i b e r a l ' t h e i r o p t i o n s r e g a r d i n g a g i v e n A c c e s s i b i l i t y

m a r k e r c a n b e : a l a n g u a g e c a n n e e e r l ic e n se t h e u s e o f a h i g h A c c e s s i b il it y

m a r k e r i n a c o n t e x t w h e r e i t d o e s n o t l ic e n se t h e u s e o f a l o w e r A c c e s si b il it y

m a r k e r . H e b r e w , I h a v e a r g u e d , o 3 e y s th i s re s tr ic t io n . ' D e g e n e r a t e '

AGR

is

m o r e r e s tr ic te d i n o c c u r r e n c e t h a r ' a n a p h o r i c '

Agr

w h i c h i s , i n t u r n , m o r e

r e s t r i c t e d t h a n ' p r o n o m i n a l '

AGR

H o w e v e r , a q u a l i f i c a t i o n i s h e r e i n o r d e r :

b e i n g m o r e r e s tr i c te d d o e s n o t n e c e s sa r il y m e a n o c c u r r i n g l e ss f r e q u e n t l y T h e

m o r e h e a v i ly - d e f in e d c o n t e x t m a y 'b e q u i t e f r e q u e n t , a t l e a s t i n s o m e g e n r e s .

I h a v e a r g u e d t h a t A c c e s s i b i l i t y , a n o b v i o u s l y c o g n i t i v e c o n c e p t , h a s a

l i n g u i s t i c c o r r e l a t e . C a n t h i s c l a i m l e a v e t h e g r a m m a r - p r a g m a t i c s b o r d e r l i n e

i n t a c t ? I b e li ev e it c a n , i f w e a d o p t K a s h e r ' s ( 1 9 7 6 , 1 9 82 ) a n d S p e r b e r a n d

W i ls o n ' s ( 1 98 6 ) v ie w o f p r a g m a t i c s. A c c o r d i n g t o t h is v ie w , a p h e n o m e n o n i s

p r a g m a t i c i f i t is n o t l a n g u a g e - s p e c if ic . G r i c e ' s ( 1 9 7 5 ) 'b e c o o p e r a t i v e ' , K a s -

h e r ' s ( 1 9 7 6 , 1 9 8 2 ) ' b e r a t i o n a l ' , ' b e p o l i t e ' , a n d S p e r b e r a n d W i i s o n ' s ( 1 9 8 6 )

' b e r e l e v a n t ' a r e g e n e r a l b e h a v i o r p a t t e r n s .

Access ib i l i ty convent ions , on the o the r hand , a re l anguage-spec i f i c in tha t they

a r e f o r m u l a t e d o v e r s p ec if ic li n g u is ti c e x p r e s s io n s , ~n d a r e t h e r e f o r e p a r t a n d

p a rc e l o f th e g r a m m a r . U n d e r o n e v e r si o n o f th e C h o m s k y a n v ie w , w h e r e ,

l i ngu i s t i c v s . non - l i ngu i s t i c , s e n t e nc e v s . d i s c ou r s e a nd l i c e ns i ng p r i nc i p l e s v s .

p r i n c i p l e s g o v e r n i n g o p t i o n a l c h o i c e s a l l b o i l d o w n t o o n e a n d t h e s a m e

d i s ti n c t io n , t h a t o f g r a m m a r v s . p r a g m a t i c s , A c c e s s ib i li ty t h e o r y d o e s c o n f l a t e

t h e t w o . H o w e v e r , A s a K a s h e r ( p e r s o n a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n ) h a s d r a w n m y

a t t e n t i o n t o a f ew p a s s a g e s i n C h o m s k y ' s w r i ti n g s w h e r e C h o m s k y d o e s s ee m

t o t a k e t h e f o r m e r p o s i t i o n r e g a r d i n g t h e g r a m m a r - p r a g m a t i c s d i v i s i o n o f

l a b o r . F o l l o w i n g C h o m s k y , K a s h e r ( 1 9 9 1) p r o p o s e s t o d i s ti n g u i sh b e t w e e n

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21/21

M A r i e l / A c c es si b i l i t y 46

g e n e r a l p r a g m a t ic s a n d l in g u i st ic p r a g m a t i c s a c o m p o n e n t w i t h in t h e g r a m -

m a r . A c c e s s i b i li t y t h e o r y t h en b e l o n g s in li n g u i s ti c p r a g m a t i c s .

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