Rappresentare e misurare la comprensione: dalla rivalutazione del ruolo del ricevente alla ricerca con l'eye-tracking

This article aims to briefly trace the tradition that has led linguistic sciences, and beyond, to align themselves with the perspective of the recipient. Starting from the appreciation of reception, various aspects of this communication aspect will be elucidated. The overcoming of so-called non-linear models of communication has diminished the asymmetry between studies on production and studies on reception, which is also observable in the lexical-semantic fields of Indo-European languages. This development has led the literature on the subject to identify a deeper cognitive process involving the reconstruction of the message’s meaning by the recipient: comprehension. The contribution introduces some paradigms through which attempts have been made to represent this cognitive process. Subsequently, it explores certain elements and applications of eye tracking, a methodology employed by literature on the subject to overcome methodological difficulties arising from the impossibility of directly studying the object of comprehension.