Interpreting Third-Person Anaphora In English And Chinese Conversations: A Cognitive Approach

The present study, based on quantified corpus analyses, investigates the distributional and referential features of major referring expressions in English and Chinese conversations by applying the basic tenets of modern cognitive linguistics, especially the Cognitive Reference Point model and Accessibility Theory. It explores the extent to which the CRP model can explain the referential behaviors of the referring expressions in question, as well as the underlying cognitive and psychological factors influencing the interpretation of anaphoric patterns as discerned in our data.For that purpose we have collected and analyzed altogether 1,628 cases of English and Chinese third-person referring expressions including 419 cases of lexical NPs, 63 cases of demonstrative expressions, 833 cases of pronouns and 313 cases of zero pronouns in both English and Chinese drama conversations.Based on a detailed examination of the factors (such as Prominence and Conceptual Connectivity) influencing the reference point/dominion organization, we have discussed the identifying principles of a Chinese or English topic/subject in relation to the establishment of a cognitive reference point. Due to the ubiquity of POV (Point of View) phenomenon in conversation, the speaker or hearer POV, either explicit or implicit, serves as the subjective background or local reference point for conceptualizing the profiled or onstage material. The conversation topic is the center of attention in the speaker or hearer's mind serving as the global reference point in the current discourse space (CDS).Then we classified both English and Chinese referring expressions into high, intermediate and low accessibility markers through data analysis in terms of the discourse contexts in which they occur, i.e., the referential distance (both linear and hierarchical), interference and syntactic positions. Zero pronouns in both English and Chinese belong to the class of high accessibility markers and lexical pronouns used in subject/topic positions and single demonstratives also belong to this class. Lexical pronouns used in positions other than the subject/topic position as well as complex demonstratives belong to the class of intermediate accessibility markers. The lexical NPs such as names and definite descriptions in both English and Chinese are low accessibility markers. Due to the dynamic nature of conversation, we find many more cases of high accessibility markers in across turn...