Discourse processing—examining our everyday language experiences

Abstract

Studies of discourse processing focus on the ways in which readers and listeners comprehend language. The linguistic segments of interest to the field tend to be larger than sound, word, or sentence-level units; they include the books and conversational communications that comprise our everyday cognitive and social interactions. The current review focuses on discourse comprehension (specifically text processing), highlighting three core issues of primary interest to the research field. First, we outline the particular elements that make up naturalistic discourse activity. Second, we identify potential interactions among the elements, and how investigations of these interactions have resulted in influential frameworks for the field. Finally, we examine contemporary work (both theoretical and applied) that might further enhance current accounts of discourse processing. As appropriate, the review includes references to relevant empirical research outlining the processes that guide, and are guided by, our discourse experiences. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.