Overview

This book addresses the question: What can close discourse analysis contribute to the understanding of language? To do so, it presents a centering theory-based computational approach to discourse analysis concerning Chinese bei passive sentences, disposal ba constructions, ditransitive gei sentences, and locative fang sentences. The book first discusses the use of discourse analysis in the context of bei and ba constructions and then demonstrates how discourse analysis can contribute to the syntactic and semantic studies of these sentences. It also examines the various thematic roles differentiated in these four special sentence patterns, namely agent, recipient, theme/patient, and locative, and reveals the various degrees of discourse accessibility of these thematic roles. Exploring the correlation between centering theory and Chinese discourse, the book is a valuable resource for anyone interested in discourse analysis and Chinese special sentential structures, especially the formalapproaches to these issues.

Full Product Details

Author:   Saina Wuyun
Publisher:   Springer Verlag, Singapore
Imprint:   Springer Verlag, Singapore
Edition:   1st ed. 2020
Weight:   0.477kg
ISBN:  

9789811586651

ISBN 10:   9811586659
Pages:   190
Publication Date:   11 November 2020
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
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Table of Contents

List of tablesAbbreviationsChapter 1. An introduction to the book1.1. The scope and methodology1.2. Main proposals1.3. An overview of the bookChapter 2. A refined Centering Theory2.1. A brief introduction2.2. Essential notions2.2.1. Center2.2.2. Utterance2.2.3. Discourse segment2.3. Basic constraints and rules2.4. Some notorious problems2.4.1. A unique Cb vs. Cb branching§2.4.2. Realization2.4.3. The role of Constraint 2.4.4. Discourse coherence vs. semantic entity salience2.5. Hu and Pan (2002) revisited2.6. The application of Centering Theory in natural language processing2.6.1. Anaphoric resolution—pronoun production vs. pronoun interpretation2.6.2. Brennan, Friedman, and Pollard's (1987) approach2.6.3. Strube’s (1998) approach2.6.4. Tetreault’s (1999, 2001) approach2.7. Interim summaryChapter 3. A Centering analysis of discourse with Chinese bei passive3.1. A general data presentation—discourse with Chinese bei passive3.2. The contribution of bei utterance to discourse coherence3.2.1. A scrutiny on each Cb transition state3.2.2. The discourse function of bei utterances3.2.3. A comparison with Givón’s (1983) tradition3.3. A reflection of the syntactic analysis towards long vs. short bei passive3.3.1. An introduction to the long vs. short passive debate3.3.2. What can discourse analysis tell us about syntax?3.4. Centering Theory revisited3.5. Interim summaryChapter 4. A centering analysis of Chinese disposal ba construction4.1. A general data presentation4.2. The contribution of ba utterance to discourse coherence4.2.1. Combinations starting with CONTINUATION4.2.2. Combinations starting with RETAIN4.2.3. Combinations starting with SHIFT4.2.4. Interim summary4.3. Is ba construction antipassive?Antipassive in ergative languages—definition and features of antipassive4.3.2. Functions of antipassive4.3.3. Classification of antipassive4.3.4. Antipassive vs. passive4.3.5. Is ba construction antipassive?4.4. Interim summary4.4.1. A summary of the chapter4.4.2. Some hints on Cf ranking of ba utteranceChapter 5. Ranking of forward-looking centers in Chinese5.1. The ranking of forward-looking centers in different languages5.2. A proposal of Cf ranking in Chinese discourse5.2.1. Rationale of the study5.2.2. An overview of data5.2.3. Ba utterance5.2.4. Gei utterance5.2.5. Fang utterance5.2.6. Bei utterance5.3. Interim summaryChapter 6. The influence of temporality interpretation on discourse coherence6.1. Modes of discourse6.2. Time reference relation in temporal modes6.3. How is temporal information conveyed in Chinese?6.4. A comparison among narrative, report, and description6.4.1. General data overview6.4.2. A comparison among three temporal modes of discourse6.5. Accounting for the difference6.6. Interim summaryChapter 7. Concluding remarks 7.1. Refinement to Centering Theory7.2. Main findings and contributions7.3. Further issuesBibliographyAppendix IAppendix II

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Author Information

Dr. Saina Wuyun received her doctoral degree in Linguistics from the City University of Hong Kong. She is an Associate Professor at the School of Chinese Language and Literature at Shaanxi Normal University and is currently researching in the field of formal discourse analysis and the syntax of archaic Chinese. She has published papers in journals such as Lingua, Language and Linguistics, and Chinese Language and Discourse. She is an executive member of the council for Associação de Caracteres Chineses de Macau.

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