An Integrated Cognitive Approach to Indirect Anaphora Resolution

摘要

Anaphora has been the subject of a number of very interesting and productive accounts. The comprehension and interpretation of anaphora is extremely important for Nature Language Processing. Indirect anaphora, which permeates verbal communication, refers to the relationship between an anaphoric expression and its intended referent which is not explicitly expressed in prior context, but can be inferred via the specific information provided in the prior linguistic context, without coreference with another expression. As a semantic concept, indirect anaphora has been researched in the literature and significant insights have been gained through various approaches. However, not a single model is capable of handling all the cases of indirect anaphora interpretation due to the fact that each model approaches the problem either from a different perspective or with a different goal. The frame theory really plays an important role to discourse understanding, but it processes from the static perspective. Human's cognitive process of indirect anaphora resolution, which is a vital part of discourse analysis, is concerned with dynamic work. Based on the previous studies on indirect anaphora and especially the recent cognitive research in anaphora study, the present paper, reviewing the different models of anaphoric resolution and trying to provide a new perspective for indirect anaphora research, establishes an integrated cognitive solution to indirect anaphora within conceptual integration network model and frame theory, which reveals great significance of human cognition in discourse analysis.Key words: indirect anaphora, cognitive linguistics, discourse analysis, frames,conceptual blending

目录

Acknowledgement

Abstracts

Chapter1 Introduction

Chapter 2 Previous Researches on Anaphora

2.1 Anaphora and some related concepts

2.1.1 Definition

2.1.2 Anaphora, reference and cohesion

2.2 Different approaches to anaphora

2.3 Cognitive approach

2.3.1 Ariel's accessibility theory

2.3.2 Cognitive status and Gundel's givenness hierarchy

2.4 Comments on these approaches

Chapter 3 An Overview of Indirect Anaphora

3.1 Indirect anaphora

3.1.1 Identification of indirect anaphora

3.1.2 Type of indirect anaphoric expression

3.2 Indirect anaphoric relation

3.2.1 Part-whole relationship

3.2.2 Event-outcome relationship

3.3 Metonymy and indirect anaphora

3.3.1 Metonymy

3.3.2 Interaction between metonymies and indirect anaphora

3.4 Differences between direct anaphora and indirect anaphora

Chapter 4 Previous Studies on Indirect Anaphora Resolution

4.1 Validation model

4.2 Cognitive model

4.2.1 Language, meaning, reference and world

4.2.2 Mental representation

4.2.3 Knowledge-based approaches to indirect anaphora resolution

4.3 The pragmatic study of indirect anaphora

4.4 The inadequacies of traditional approaches to indirect anaphora

Chapter 5 Integrated Cognitive Theory to Indirect Anaphora

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Some important assumptions to indirect anaphora

5.2.1 Inference

5.2.2 Frames

5.3 Conceptual integration theory

5.3.1 Introduction

5.3.2 Integration network model

5.3.3 General process of conceptual integration

5.4 An integrated model

5.5 Applications in the resolution of indirect anaphora

Chapter 6 Conclusion

Bibliography