We are happy to announce a talk by Magnus Poppe (Frankfurt) in the Semantics Colloquium.
The talk will take place on campus in IG 4.301.
If you wish to participate virtually via Zoom, please contact Lennart Fritzsche for the link.
Date: October 31, 2024
Time: 4 pm – 6 pm c.t.
Title: Dynamic Binding and Pronoun Dis-agreement Across Modalities
Abstract:
In multimodal discourse, pointing gestures introduce referents that enhance pronoun resolution, even when grammatical agreement between pronoun and gesture-introduced referents is absent. This study examines the role of “pointing” versus “non-pointing” gestures in pronoun binding by manipulating gesture type and pronoun agreement. Results indicate that pointing gestures facilitate pronoun resolution across both agreeing and non-agreeing contexts, while non-pointing gestures lack this referential impact.
Supported by Gutzmann’s (2020) insights, which suggest that gender features on pronouns add a supplementary layer of meaning rather than being central to the main discourse, the findings indicate that gestures may allow pronouns to bind even with a gender mismatch, without altering the truth of the primary assertion. Further analysis of the study’s results shows a general preference for agreeing pronouns, yet pointing gestures serve as a robust referential anchor regardless of pronoun agreement. These results challenge models that prioritize grammatical alignment, highlighting how gestures contribute referential clarity comparable to that of linguistic elements and play a critical role in cross-modal communication.