Definiteness marking shows late effects during discourse processing: Evidence from ERPs

Abstract

This paper investigates the processing of indefinite and definite noun phrases in discourse. It presents data from an Event-Related brain Potential (ERP) study that contrasted definite and indefinite noun phrases following three distinct context sentences. The data suggest that coherence considerations influence early processing stages, while morphological definiteness features only affect later stages during reference resolution. In addition, the processing of a definite determiner (prior to encountering the subsequent noun) exerts processing demands, supporting the functional contribution of definiteness marking. Supplementary data from a plausibility questionnaire and two completion studies are also presented. The findings are discussed with respect to a neurocognitive model of reference resolution. © 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.