A predictive coding approach to Text World Theory
Benedict Neurohr · Linguistic approaches to literature · 2019
Abstract Text World Theory offers a beneficial tool for the analysis of texts and the structures of fictional worlds. A significant and fascinating topic is the cognitive and psychological reality behind the text-world structures identified by an expert researcher of literature and if they are experienced when read by a given individual for pleasure. Using a neurological model of perceptual processing called Predictive Coding, this chapter sets out to examine how a text might be processed in real time by a reader. This process must also be sensitive to readers’ prior knowledge in keeping with Text World Theory, and whether it is the first time the text is read or not. It will be shown that while the analyses provided by Text World Theory are valid and useful for describing fictional constructions, it is possible to be even more precise when describing the formation of text-worlds in a real-time reading process.