Reading Comprehension: A Matter of Referents

Abstract

Research which focuses on the study of comprehension in relation to language primarily deals with the analysis of language structures (i.e., sentence structure or syntax [Athey 1971, MacGinitie 1975 ). There is relatively little research, however, on how meaning is conveyed by language used in written communication. Syntactical aspects cannot explain how an individual brings meaning to and derives meaning from written discourse, since semantic interpretations are relative not only to the logical relations among the words given in a sentence or in a group of sentences, but also the the experiential background and level of cognitive awareness of the language user (Dinnan 1975, Lesgold 1974.