Eleni Fleva | Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Ianthi Tsimpli | Aristotle University of Thessaloniki | University of Cambridge
Our study examines the impact of age differences in the
interpretation of null and overt subject pronouns in referentially
ambiguous sentences, while investigating at the same time the extent
to which ambiguous anaphora resolution is affected by cognitive and
print exposure measures. Older adults (n = 46) and younger adults
(n = 62) were administered an online self-paced listening
referent-choice task and a battery of cognitive measures including
digit span, visual attention switching, as well as a print exposure.
Pronoun resolution was found to be subject to age differences,
however, the two pronouns were not equally affected. Referent
preference radically changed with age for the null pronoun contexts
only, while overt pronoun resolution patterns were similar across
the two age groups. The groups’ performance is accounted for in
terms of both age-related cognitive decline and the pronouns’ degree
of morphophonological specification.
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