Identifying Objects in English and German: a Contrastive Linguistic Analysis of Spatial Reference 1

Abstract

In Tenbrink (2005a), I presented the results of a web study addressing English native speakers' strategies in a scenario that enhances reference via spatial contrast. The present study compares the results for English with those obtained for German, focusing on speakers' linguistic preferences concerning syntactic forms and modifications. Results confirm previously identified communicative principles underlying speakers' choices, and additionally point to a number of systematic differences in speakers' choices, which can in part be explained by differences in language structure.