The identification of foreground‐background information in on‐line oral descriptive discourse∗
Russell S. Tomlin · Paper in Linguistics · 1986
The identification of discourse relations, like foreground‐background information, in natural text data represents a critical methodological issue in research into the functions of syntax in discourse. Currently, methods of identification are either syntax‐dependent or exclusively introspective, resulting in circular or vague argumentation concerning the role of syntactic form in coding discourse relations. An empirically‐grounded methodology for identifying foreground‐background information in natural discourse data is presented and motivated. An experiment is described in which 15 native English speaking subjects described on‐line a 108 second animated videotape. Results show that independently determined event significance correlates significantly with the frequences with which subjects report events. These results permit the formulation of a syntax‐independent and operationally explicit methodology for identifying foreground‐background information in on‐line descriptive discourse.