Cover not available

In:Cognitive Linguistics and the Study of Chinese
Edited by Dingfang Shu, Hui Zhang and Lifei Zhang
[Human Cognitive Processing 67] 2019
► pp. 185–206

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload Book PDF
EPUB logo with download linkDownload Book EPUB
authorization required

Chapter 6
Structural salience and referential accessibility

A cognitive account of inter-clausal NP anaphora in Chinese complex sentences

 | Shanghai International Studies University
Published online: 20 November 2019
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/hcp.67.08xu
In Chinese, the subject NP of a preposed subordinate clause can be placed either before or after the subordinate conjunction. This chapter argues that this positional difference of the NP is closely related to whether the NP is intended to be conjoint or disjoint in reference with the subject NP of the main clause. Based on the two theoretical notions of Topicality and Accessibility, I propose two hypotheses to account for the preferred patterns of inter-clausal NP anaphora in Chinese complex sentences. The results of the data analyses corroborate the two hypotheses.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1Basic concepts
      • 1.1.1The notion of anaphora
      • 1.1.2Types of sentences in Chinese
    • 1.2The problem
  • 2.Topicality and anaphora
    • 2.1The identification of topic
    • 2.2Topic and preferred co-referential interpretation in Chinese complex sentences
  • 3.Accessibility marking and anaphora
  • 4.Data analysis
    • 4.1Methodological preliminaries
    • 4.2Results and discussion
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
References (26)
References
Ariel, M. 1990. Accessing noun-phrase antecedents. London: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
2013. Centering, accessibility and the next mention. Theoretical Linguistics, 39(1), 39–58.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bolinger, D. 1979. Pronouns in discourse. In T. Givón (Ed.), Discourse and syntax (Syntax and semantics 12) (pp. 289–309). New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chao, Y. R. 1968. A grammar of spoken Chinese. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cornish, F. 1986. Anaphoric relations in English and French: A discourse perspective. London: Croom Helm.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Halliday, M. A. K. 1970. Language structure and language function. In J. Lyons (Ed.), New horizons in linguistics (pp. 140–165). Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
1985. An introduction to functional grammar. London: Edward Arnold.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Huang, C-T. J. 1982. Logical relations in Chinese and the theory of grammar. Ph.D. dissertation, MIT.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Huang, Y. 1991. A neo-Gricean pragmatic theory of anaphora. Journal of Linguistics, 27(2), 301–335. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Langacker, R. W. 1993. Reference-point constructions. Cognitive Linguistics, 4(1), 1–38. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
2009. Investigations in cognitive grammar. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Levinson, S. C. 1987. Minimization and conversational inference. In J. Verschueren, & M. Bertuccelli-Papi (Eds.), The pragmatic perspective (pp. 61–129). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Li, C. I. 1985. Participant anaphora in Mandarin Chinese. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Florida.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Li, C. N., & Thompson, S. A. 1979. Third-person pronouns and zero-anaphora in Chinese discourse. In T. Givón (Ed.), Discourse and syntax (Syntax and semantics 12) (pp. 311–335). New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
1981. Mandarin Chinese: A functional reference grammar. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Li, J. X., & Liu, S. R. 1987. Lianhe cizhu he lianhe fuju (Compound phrases and compound sentences). Shanghai: Shanghai Education Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lin, Y. W. 1987. Pianzheng fuju (Complex sentences). Shanghai: Shanghai Education Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tsao, F-F. 1979. A functional study of topic in Chinese: The first step towards discourse analysis. Taipei: Student Book Co.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
1987. A topic-comment approach to the ba construction. Journal of Chinese Linguistics, 15(1), 1–54.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
van Hoek, K. 1997. Anaphora and conceptual structure. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Xu, Y. L. 1984a. Reference as a cohesive tie in Chinese and English narrative discourse: A contrastive study. MA thesis, Chinese University of Hong Kong.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
1984b. A review of Li & Thompson 1981. Language Learning and Communication, 3(1), 75–82.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
1989. A review of Tsao 1987. Guowai Yuyanxue (Linguistics Abroad), 1, 32–38.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
1995. Resolving third-person anaphora in Chinese texts: Towards a functional-pragmatic model. Doctoral dissertation, Hong Kong Polytechnic University.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
1996. Han ying pianzhang zhong juzi zhuti de shibie (Definition and identification of sentence topic in Chinese and English discourse). Waiguoyu (Journal of Foreign Languages), 6, 3–9.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
2003. Hanyu zhucongjujian de huizhi wenti (Inter-clausal NP anaphora in complex sentences of written Chinese texts). Dangdai Yuyanxue (Contemporary Linguistics), 2, 97–107.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue