is commonly assumed that as a spoken linguistic message unfolds over time, it is initially processed by modules that are encapsulated from information provided by other perceptual and cognitive systems. W e were able to observe the effects of relevant visual context on the rapid mental processes that accompany spoken language comprehension by recording eye movements using a head-mounted eye-tracking system while subjects followed instructions to manipulate real objects. Under conditions that approximate an ordinary language environment, incorporating goal-directed action, the visual context influenced spoken word recognition and mediated syntactic processing, even during the earliest moments of language processing.

This study evaluates the effect of presuppositional information associated with contrastive stress on on-line language processing. An eye-tracking methodology was used, in which eye movement latencies to real objects in a visual display are taken as a measure of on-line reference resolution. Results indicate that presupposed contrast sets are being computed on-line, and can be used to speed reference resolution by narrowing the referential domain of an utterance. In addition, presupposed contrast sets appear to play a role in managing attention in the processing of a discourse.