Storoshenko, Dennis RyanNakhaei, Mahyar2019-07-102019-07-102019-07-09Nakhaei, M. (2019). The Interplay of Memory and Sentence Structure on the Resolution of Persian Pronouns (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.http://hdl.handle.net/1880/110609One of the most prominent hypotheses in the realm of pronoun resolution in pro-drop languages is the Position of Antecedent Hypothesis (PAH) according to which null pronouns are more likely to select subject antecedents whereas overt pronouns are more likely to be linked with non-subject antecedents. A plethora of studies attempts to examine the extension of PAH to several pro-drop languages. However, none has taken the differences between individuals into account. It has been claimed that the working memory capacity of individuals as one measure of individual difference might affect processing pronouns by native speakers of a language. I will show that the memory load has a facilitative role in the resolution of Persian pronouns whereas working memory of individuals is not a predictor variable. Moreover, overt pronouns behave more consistently with predictions of PAH especially when the memory load is low. Keywords: Pronouns, Pro-drop, PAH, Working Memory, PersianengUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.PronounsPro-dropPersianPAHWorking MemoryLinguisticsmaster thesis10.11575/PRISM/36724