Abstract We investigate a notion related to Chafe’s One New Idea Constraint (ONICON), namely that clauses only contain one new idea at a time. We investigate both the nominal and the verbal domain in discourse production data from 16 diverse languages. We find no convincing evidence for a hard constraint on the number of new ideas per clause, nor for speakers actively managing information flow in discourse. The absence of an underlying ONICON is suggested by (1) the fact that NPs co-occurring in a single clause do not have more accessible referents, (2) that observed distributions of information can likewise be reproduced by a randomised mechanism, and (3) the absence of a presentational referent activation pattern. A more likely account of observed discourse production pattern is producers’ overall goal to be both contentful and coherent, the former implying the mentioning of a considerable number of entities and the latter implying predications about these entities. It is in this sense that there is audience design, rather than in an avoidance of information overcharge.

Abstract This paper contributes to the study of actualization through a case study on the development of the Chinese NP 1 + bǎ +NP 2 +VP construction. Actualization is the process following syntactic reanalysis in which new linguistic structures diffuse and extend their usage. Data are sourced from The Centre for Chinese Linguistics (CCL) Corpus. Multiple Correspondence Analysis is employed to explore the dynamic relationships among several subconstructions, and Multidimensional Scaling is adopted to visualize the continuity of their meanings. The findings indicate that: (1) the subconstructions form a continuum from expressing disposition meanings to causative meanings; (2) over time, the manipulation of NP 1 to NP 2 decreases, while the affectedness of NP 2 increases; (3) evidence of actualization is observed in the expansion of both semantic and syntactic distributional contexts. These results challenge prevalent claims regarding the high affectedness of the argument marked by bǎ and present further evidence for the ongoing debate over directionality in language change. These findings lend support to the gradualness ( Traugott & Trousdale 2010 ) and diffusion hypotheses ( De Smet 2016 ) of language change, and supplement these hypotheses by proposing that the actualization process can be influenced by the token frequency of existing patterns.

Reviewed by PraiseGod Aminu (University of Pittsburgh) Even though the lives of Domestic Migrant Workers (DMWs) have received considerable attention in discourse studies, there is little research on the narratives of DMWs upon return to their home countries. Ladegaard's book fills this gap using a corpus of 113 narratives of Indonesian and Filipino DMWs in Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Belgium, and Pakistan. The book is divided into eight chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the book and provides a background to the study. Chapter 2 explores the methodological, theoretical, and analytical frameworks of the study. Chapter 3 analyzes the homecoming experiences of the DMWs. Chapter 4 discusses their traumatic experiences and Chapter 5 analyzes their positive experiences. Chapter 6 compares their positive and negative experiences. Chapter 7 explores Ladegaard's positionality, reflects on his research experience with DMWs, and relates his positionality and reflection to social activism in migrant worker research. In Chapter 1, Ladegaard provides a thorough background to his study. He also illustrates his participation (as researcher, volunteer, and social activist) in the data retrieval process. The participants in the study were recruited through local migrant worker NGOs who were in contact with migrant workers. In retrieving data from these migrants, Ladegaard was not a neutral observer and had to take sides with the migrant workers he recorded. The chapter furthermore outlines some challenges faced by the migrant workers, such as the difficulty maintaining connections with family, the fear of being sacked from work, and of being deported. Additionally, Ladegaard explains the primary criterion for participation in the study: the participants need to be migrant workers who have worked abroad and returned to their countries. The final part of the chapter covers the organization of the study. Chapter 2 defines the form of narrative employed in the bookelicited narrativesin which the narrator is invited to tell their stories. Three broad questions guide the study (p. 19): What is it like for you to be a migrant worker? What is it like for you to come home? What are you thinking about the future? In the sharing sessions, the workers talked extensively about the first question. I must note here that the author's use of 'sharing session' refers to the sessions held by

Abstract In research on information structure and discourse cohesion, contrast has been defined in different ways, depending on the pragmatic/semantic relation established between the propositions involved in the contrast, on the text types and on other discourse conditions. As a whole, despite – or possibly because of – its vagueness, contrast has proved to be a useful heuristic tool for characterizing discourse cohesion phenomena. This paper focuses on results from our research concerning cohesion phenomena in elicited discourse in Romance (Italian, French) and Germanic (German, Dutch) languages and aims to offer a more precise characterization of contrast against several variation parameters. We take into consideration earlier work on three tasks (Finite Story, Polarity-Switch Dialogues, Map Task) and add a new one (Spot the Difference). The comparison between the results allows us to disentangle the following variables: information units involved in the contrast relation; discourse conditions (monologue vs. dialogue); speakers’ access to information (shared vs. non-shared); effect of contrast on information in the common ground (alternative maintained vs. rejected). The aim is to achieve a more fine-grained definition of contrast relations, which allows us to identify and characterize the divergent behavior of Romance and Germanic languages, and to relate intra- and crosslinguistic differences revealed by speakers’ preferences in speech with structural specificities of the two language groups.

Abstract This paper proposes a number of refinements to the original theory of Exchange Structure as first conceived. It first offers a summary of the early ideas and considers challenges made by others. The study responds to these challenges through new analysis of multiparty discourse. The paper discusses revisions to the model based on these challenges drawing on the iterative analysis conducted and considers other points relevant to multiparty discourse. The data is drawn from transcribed video recordings of small groups of 4 to 5 year-old children’s peer-led dialogic interactions as they engage in role-play. In addition to the development of Exchange Structure theory, this new analysis sheds light on the nature of negotiation within multiparty discourse and the dynamics of negotiation by young children in this playful context.