5. Rhetorical distance revisited: A parameterized approach

This paper presents the notion of rhetorical distance within a parameterized framework for discourse-structural accessibility. Based on a minimal set of parameters, it allows for a comparative representation of different theories, and is capable of assessing discourse-structural effects beyond the binary accessibility criterion. This work is motivated by general heterogeneity of approaches that relate discourse structure and pronominalization. The proposed parameterized framework reconstructs three of these approaches on a common foundation. Finally, we outline the results of a comparative empirical study on predictions of these theories for the use of personal pronouns in German and English newspaper corpora.