On scalarity in information structure

In the present paper, different scales discussed in the relevant linguistic literature are characterized and compared, first of all those that are related in some way or another to the information structure of the sentence. We then introduce our scale based on a partial ordering of mental images in the stock of knowledge assumed by the speaker to be shared by him and the hearer during the discourse. This hierarchy has a cognitive background but is reflected in the structure of the sentence, be it its information structure, or the types of referring expressions. The activation scale and its impact is then illustrated on a segment of parallel English and Czech text.