The cataphoric use of the indefinite this in spoken narratives

Are concepts that were introduced with the unstressed, indefinite article this, as opposed to the indefinite a/an, more accessible from listeners ' mental representations? Subjects heard and then verbally continued each of a series of informal narratives. The last clause of each nar rative introduced a new noun phrase that began with either the indefinite this or the indefinite a/an (e.g., this egg or an egg). When the concepts were introduced with the indefinite this, the subjects referred to them more frequently, often within the first clauses that they produced, and typically via pronouns. In contrast, when the concepts were introduced with a/an, the subjects referred to them less frequently and typically via full noun phrases. Thus, concepts introduced with the indefinite this were more accessible; therefore, the indefinite this appears to operate cataphorically to improve referential access. As speakers speak, listeners build mental representa tions of the ongoing discourse. Both listeners and speakers benefit if these representations are efficiently constructed. One characteristic of an efficient mental representation is that key concepts are easily accessible