1887
  1. Home
  2. e-Journals
  3. Functions of Language
  4. Online First Articles
  5. Online First Article
image of Verbalisation and the One-New-Idea Constraint
PDF
EPUB

Abstract

The One-New-Idea-Constraint (ONICON) is proposed to be an absolute universal on human cognitive capabilities. While the ONICON predicts that we maximally realise one new idea at a time, it does not account for the maximal amount of information that can be realised at any point in discourse. To help us better understand factors influencing information flow in discourse, we may instead wish to turn our focus to verbalisation, the cognitive process behind this act. Examining verbalisation more closely can in turn allow us to better assess the extent to which the ONICON can hold. Using corpus data from three Trans-Himalayan languages, I explore how we choose to verbalise particularly information-rich intonation units and what factors may influence this process. Through investigating how information-rich intonation units are verbalised, I highlight ways in which the ONICON may be refined or challenged to better capture everyday language use.

© John Benjamins Publishing Company
Available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/fol.26011.pec
2026-05-12
2026-06-07

  • From This Site

    /content/journals/10.1075/fol.26011.pec
    dcterms_title,dcterms_subject,pub_keyword
    -contentType:Journal -contentType:Contributor -contentType:Concept -contentType:Institution
    10
    5
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/10.1075/fol.26011.pec/fol.26011.pec.html?itemId=/content/journals/10.1075/fol.26011.pec&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

References

  1. Auer, Peter
    2005 Projection in interaction and projection in grammar. Text: Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of Discourse(). –.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Baruah, Urmimala & Ruma Bhattacharyya
    2019 Diverse ethnic food practices of the Galo tribe in Arunachal Pradesh. Food Science Research Journal(). –. 10.15740/HAS/FSRJ/10.2/197‑202
     https://doi.org/10.15740/HAS/FSRJ/10.2/197-202 [Google Scholar]
  3. Bodt, Timotheus Adrianus
    2018a Duhumbi Stories — Sound files. Zenodo.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. 2018b Duhumbi Stories — Transcribed, parsed, glossed, translated text files. Zenodo.
     [Google Scholar]
  5. 2020 Grammar of Duhumbi (Chugpa). Leiden: Brill.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Chafe, Wallace
    1974 Language and consciousness. Language(). –. 10.2307/412014
     https://doi.org/10.2307/412014 [Google Scholar]
  7. 1976 Givenness, contrastiveness, definiteness, subjects, topics, and point of view. InCharles N. Li (ed.), Subject and topic, –. New York: Academic Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  8. 1977 Creativity in verbalization and its implications for the nature of stored knowledge. InRoy O. Freedle (ed.), Discourse production and comprehension, –. Norwood: Ablex.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. 1979 The flow of thought and the flow of language. InTalmy Givón (ed.), Discourse and syntax, –. New York: Academic Press. 10.1163/9789004368897_008
     https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004368897_008 [Google Scholar]
  10. 1987 Cognitive constraints on information flow. InRussell S. Tomlin (ed.), Coherence and grounding in discourse: Outcome of a symposium, Eugene, Oregon, June 1984, –. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 10.1075/tsl.11.03cha
     https://doi.org/10.1075/tsl.11.03cha [Google Scholar]
  11. 1994 Discourse, consciousness, and time: The flow and displacement of conscious experience in speaking and writing. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. 1998 Things we can learn from repeated tellings of the same experience. Narrative Inquiry(). –. 10.1075/ni.8.2.03cha
     https://doi.org/10.1075/ni.8.2.03cha [Google Scholar]
  13. 2018 Thought-based Linguistics. Cambridge: CUP. 10.1017/9781108367493
     https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108367493 [Google Scholar]
  14. Christiansen, Morten H. & Nick Chater
    2016 Language as Shaped by the Brain. InCreating Language: Integrating Evolution, Acquisition, and Processing, –. Cambridge: MIT Press. 10.7551/mitpress/10406.003.0005
     https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/10406.003.0005 [Google Scholar]
  15. Clark, Herbert H.
    1996 Using language. Cambridge: CUP. 10.1017/CBO9780511620539
     https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511620539 [Google Scholar]
  16. Croft, William
    1995 Intonation units and grammatical structure. Linguistics(). –. 10.1515/ling.1995.33.5.839
     https://doi.org/10.1515/ling.1995.33.5.839 [Google Scholar]
  17. 2007 The origins of grammar in the verbalization of experience. Cognitive Linguistics(). –. 10.1515/COG.2007.021
     https://doi.org/10.1515/COG.2007.021 [Google Scholar]
  18. Damron, Rebecca
    2004 Prosodic schemas: Evidence from Urdu and Pakistani English. InCarol Lynn Moder & Aida Martinovic-Zic (eds.), Discourse across languages and cultures, –. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 10.1075/slcs.68.04dam
     https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.68.04dam [Google Scholar]
  19. Dargue, Nicole, Naomi Sweller & Michael P. Jones
    2019 When our hands help us understand: A meta-analysis into the effects of gesture on comprehension. Psychological Bulletin(). –. 10.1037/bul0000202
     https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000202 [Google Scholar]
  20. Delin, Judy
    1996 Review of Chafe (1994): Discourse, consciousness, and time: The flow and displacement of conscious experience in speaking and writing. Functions of Language(). –. 10.1075/fol.3.1.08del
     https://doi.org/10.1075/fol.3.1.08del [Google Scholar]
  21. Dunbar, R. I. M.
    2004 Gossip in evolutionary perspective. Review of General Psychology. SAGE Publications(). –. 10.1037/1089‑2680.8.2.100
     https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.8.2.100 [Google Scholar]
  22. Ericsson, K. Anders & Herbert A. Simon
    1980 Verbal reports as data. Psychological Review(). –. 10.1037/0033‑295X.87.3.215
     https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.87.3.215 [Google Scholar]
  23. 1998 How to study thinking in everyday life: contrasting think-aloud protocols with descriptions and explanations of thinking. Mind, Culture, and Activity(). –. 10.1207/s15327884mca0503_3
     https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327884mca0503_3 [Google Scholar]
  24. Evans, Nicholas, Henrik Bergqvist & Lila San Roque
    2018 The grammar of engagement I: Framework and initial exemplification. Language and Cognition(). –. 10.1017/langcog.2017.21
     https://doi.org/10.1017/langcog.2017.21 [Google Scholar]
  25. Evans, Nicholas & Stephen C. Levinson
    2009 The myth of language universals: Language diversity and its importance for cognitive science. Behavioral and Brain Sciences(). –. 10.1017/S0140525X0999094X
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X0999094X [Google Scholar]
  26. Givón, Talmy
    (ed.) 1983 Topic continuity in discourse: A quantitative cross-language study. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 10.1075/tsl.3
     https://doi.org/10.1075/tsl.3 [Google Scholar]
  27. 1991 Some substantive issues concerning verb serialization: Grammatical vs. cognitive packaging. InClaire Lefebvre (ed.), Serial verbs: Grammatical, comparative and cognitive approaches, –. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 10.1075/ssls.8.06giv
     https://doi.org/10.1075/ssls.8.06giv [Google Scholar]
  28. Graesser, Arthur C., Murray Singer & Tom Trabasso
    1994 Constructing inferences during narrative text comprehension. Psychological Review(). –. 10.1037/0033‑295X.101.3.371
     https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.101.3.371 [Google Scholar]
  29. Grice, H. Paul
    1975 Logic and conversation. InPeter Cole & Jerry L. Morgan (eds.), Syntax and semantics 3: Speech arts, –. New York: Academic Press. 10.1163/9789004368811_003
     https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004368811_003 [Google Scholar]
  30. Grigoroglou, Myrto & Anna Papafragou
    2019 Interactive contexts increase informativeness in children’s referential communication. Developmental Psychology(). –. 10.1037/dev0000693
     https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000693 [Google Scholar]
  31. Hopper, Paul J.
    1995 The category “event” in natural discourse and logic. InWerner Abraham, Talmy Givón & Sandra A. Thompson (eds.), Discourse, grammar and typology: Papers in honor of John W.M. Verhaar, –. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 10.1075/slcs.27.12hop
     https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.27.12hop [Google Scholar]
  32. Johnson-Laird, Philip Nicholas
    1983 Mental models: Towards a cognitive science of language, inference, and consciousness. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  33. Lambrecht, Knud
    1994 Information structure and sentence form: Topic, focus, and the mental representations of discourse referents. Cambridge: CUP. 10.1017/CBO9780511620607
     https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511620607 [Google Scholar]
  34. Langacker, Ronald
    1991 Foundations of Cognitive Grammar: Descriptive application. Vol.. Stanford: SUP.
     [Google Scholar]
  35. Levelt, Willem J. M.
    1989 Speaking: From intention to articulation. Cambridge: The MIT Press. 10.7551/mitpress/6393.001.0001
     https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/6393.001.0001 [Google Scholar]
  36. Linders, Guido M. & Stefan Schnell
    2026 A cross-linguistic computational study on One New Idea per clause. Functions of Language.
     [Google Scholar]
  37. Magliano, Joseph P. & Gabriel A. Radvansky
    2001 Goal coordination in narrative comprehension. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review(). –. 10.3758/BF03196175
     https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03196175 [Google Scholar]
  38. Malt, Barbara C., Steven A. Sloman, Silvia Gennari, Meiyi Shi & Yuan Wang
    1999 Knowing versus naming: Similarity and the linguistic categorization of artifacts. Journal of Memory and Language(). –. 10.1006/jmla.1998.2593
     https://doi.org/10.1006/jmla.1998.2593 [Google Scholar]
  39. Mithun, Marianne
    1987 Is basic word order universal?InRussell S. Tomlin (ed.), Coherence and grounding in discourse: Outcome of a symposium, Eugene, Oregon, June 1984, –. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 10.1075/tsl.11.14mit
     https://doi.org/10.1075/tsl.11.14mit [Google Scholar]
  40. 2026 The role of information packaging in shaping linguistic structure. Functions of Language.
     [Google Scholar]
  41. Ozerov, Pavel
    2026 Beyond a single constraint: The “one-new-idea” tendency as an emergent phenomenon. Functions of Language.
     [Google Scholar]
  42. Papafragou, Anna & Myrto Grigoroglou
    2019 The role of conceptualization during language production: Evidence from event encoding. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience(). –. 10.1080/23273798.2019.1589540
     https://doi.org/10.1080/23273798.2019.1589540 [Google Scholar]
  43. Pawley, Andrew
    1987 Encoding events in Kalam and English: Different logics for reporting experience. InRussell S. Tomlin (ed.), Coherence and grounding in discourse: Outcome of a symposium, Eugene, Oregon, June 1984, –. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 10.1075/tsl.11.15paw
     https://doi.org/10.1075/tsl.11.15paw [Google Scholar]
  44. 2011 Event representation in serial verb constructions. InJürgen Bohnemeyer & Eric Pederson (eds.), Event representation in language and cognition, –. Cambridge: CUP.
     [Google Scholar]
  45. Pawley, Andrew & Frances Hodgetts Syder
    1983 Two puzzles for linguistic theory: Nativelike selection and nativelike fluency. InJack C. Richards & Richard W. Schmidt (eds.), Language and communication, –. London: Longman.
     [Google Scholar]
  46. 2000 The one-clause-at-a-time hypothesis. InHeidi Riggenbach (ed.), Perspectives on Fluency, –. Ann Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  47. Peck, Naomi
    2025a (Re)contextualising serialisation: Multiverbal constructions in the East Himalaya. Freiburg: University of Freiburg PhD thesis.
     [Google Scholar]
  48. 2025b Kera’a Corpus. OSF.
     [Google Scholar]
  49. Pickering, Martin J. & Simon Garrod
    2013 An integrated theory of language production and comprehension. Behavioral and Brain Sciences(). –. 10.1017/S0140525X12001495
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X12001495 [Google Scholar]
  50. Post, Mark W.
    2006 Loss of writing. PARADISEC.
     [Google Scholar]
  51. Radvansky, Gabriel A. & Jeffrey M. Zacks
    2014 Event cognition. Oxford: OUP. 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199898138.001.0001
     https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199898138.001.0001 [Google Scholar]
  52. Reinöhl, Uta, Kirsten Culhane, Simon Fries, Naomi Peck & Maria Vollmer
    2023 “One new idea” constraint holds cross-linguistically even in “flat” expressions. Oral Presentation presented atthe 16th International Cognitive Linguistics Conference, Düsseldorf, 7–11 August 2023.
     [Google Scholar]
  53. Reinöhl, Uta & T. Mark Ellison
    2026 The one-new-idea constraint, functor-argument metaphors, and holistic language processing. Functions of Language.
     [Google Scholar]
  54. Reinöhl, Uta & Naomi Peck
    2026 The ‘idea’ in the One-New-Idea Constraint. Functions of Language.
     [Google Scholar]
  55. Slobin, Dan I.
    1996 From “thought and language” to “thinking for speaking”. InJ. J. Gumperz & Stephen C. Levinson (eds.), Rethinking linguistic relativity, –. Cambridge: CUP.
     [Google Scholar]
  56. Stathi, Katerina
    2023 Granularity in the verbalization of events and objects: A cross-linguistic study. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 10.1075/slcs.233
     https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.233 [Google Scholar]
  57. Swallow, Khena M., Jeffrey M. Zacks & Richard A. Abrams
    2009 Event boundaries in perception affect memory encoding and updating. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General(). –. 10.1037/a0015631
     https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015631 [Google Scholar]
  58. Szala, Anna, Sławomir Wacewicz, Marek Placiński, Aleksandra Ewa Poniewierska, Arkadiusz Schmeichel, Michał Stefańczyk, Przemyslaw Zywiczynski & R. I. M. Dunbar
    2024 How much language use is actually on social topics: Human conversational behavior revisited. Language and Cognition. . 10.1017/langcog.2024.54
     https://doi.org/10.1017/langcog.2024.54 [Google Scholar]
  59. Tenbrink, Thora
    2015 Cognitive Discourse Analysis: Accessing cognitive representations and processes through language data. Language and Cognition(). –. 10.1017/langcog.2014.19
     https://doi.org/10.1017/langcog.2014.19 [Google Scholar]
  60. Thompson, Sandra A. & Elizabeth Couper-Kuhlen
    2005 The clause as a locus of grammar and interaction. Discourse Studies(). –. 10.1177/1461445605054403
     https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445605054403 [Google Scholar]
  61. Trueswell, John C. & Anna Papafragou
    2010 Perceiving and remembering events cross-linguistically: Evidence from dual-task paradigms. Journal of Memory and Language(). –. 10.1016/j.jml.2010.02.006
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jml.2010.02.006 [Google Scholar]
  62. Ünal, Ercenur, Yue Ji & Anna Papafragou
    2021 From event representation to linguistic meaning. Topics in Cognitive Science(). –. 10.1111/tops.12475
     https://doi.org/10.1111/tops.12475 [Google Scholar]
  63. Vogels, Jorrig, David M. Howcroft, Elli Tourtouri & Vera Demberg
    2020 How speakers adapt object descriptions to listeners under load. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience(). –. 10.1080/23273798.2019.1648839
     https://doi.org/10.1080/23273798.2019.1648839 [Google Scholar]
  64. Wittgenstein, Ludwig
    1953 Philosophical investigations. Oxford: Blackwell.
     [Google Scholar]
  65. Yule, George
    1981 New, current and displaced entity reference. Lingua(). –. 10.1016/0024‑3841(81)90054‑1
     https://doi.org/10.1016/0024-3841(81)90054-1 [Google Scholar]
  66. Zacks, Jeffrey M. & Khena M. Swallow
    2007 Event segmentation. Current Directions in Psychological Science(). –. 10.1111/j.1467‑8721.2007.00480.x
     https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8721.2007.00480.x [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/fol.26011.pec
Loading
Verbalisation and the One-New-Idea Constraint
John Benjamins ; https://doi.org/10.1075/fol.26011.pec
/content/journals/10.1075/fol.26011.pec
/content/journals/10.1075/fol.26011.pec
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keywords: verbalisation ; Trans-Himalayan ; One New Idea ; information flow

Most Cited

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error