Eye tracking as a tool for investigating Persian time conceptualization in Default Semantics framework

According to Default Semantics Theory، time is a merger meaning composed of information sources like: word and structure، cognitive defaults and conscious pragmatic inference. When the speakers encounter a particular verb، they may employ their cognitive defaults and figure out the reference time automatically without effortful processing or they may use conscious pragmatic inference to understand its temporal meaning. In this research we try to achieve objective evidences based on an eye tracking experiment for the involvement of these sources of information in the processing of Persian temporal meaning. In an eye tracking experiment، the eye movements of 30 Persian speakers on the verb expressions of 19 passages have been studied. The results show that Persian speakers rely on their cognitive defaults to understand the temporal meaning of some verb expressions while for other verb expressions، the temporal meaning is understood through conscious pragmatic inference. So the verb expressions could be assumed on a continuum. Some of them are strong defaults to refer to a particular time but understanding the temporal reference of some should only be possible through conscious inference and the rest of them would be placed in the middle.