Zero Anaphora Studies In Chinese Texts

Anaphora resolution has attracted the attention of many researchers in the last ten years. In Chinese, there are mainly three kinds of anaphora: zero anaphora, pronominal anaphora and nominal anaphora. Zero anaphora occurs most frequently among these three kinds of anaphora. It is so widespread and so unconstrained that it is considered as the normal mode. Therefore, the study of zero anaphora resolution has special significance for Chinese.This paper, by applying the anaphora resolution principle put forward by Xu Yulong, addresses Chinese zero anaphora problems that Wang Deliang's resolution algorithm fails to resolve. First, we give a brief account of zero anaphora in Chinese and major approaches to anaphora resolution. Secondly, the two resolution models by Wang Deliang and Xu Yulong are introduced. Thirdly, by applying the anaphora resolution principle put forward by Xu Yulong, we attempt to resolve the particular Chinese zero anaphora problems that Wang Deliang's resolution algorithm fails to. We found out that the anaphora resolution principle is capable of solving the problems that the resolution algorithm fails to resolve.In the last part of the thesis, an empirical study is carried out. Some data are collected from modern literary works which can reflect the true features of Chinese. Through careful data analyses, we find that most zero anaphors can be successfully resolved by applying the two resolution models except some special cases, which means that these two resolution principles are both effective. However, there is a difference between these two models. The zero anaphors that Xu's model fails to resolve are fewer than those that Wang's fails to. This means that Xu's model is more effective than Wang's.