Studies On Anaphora Of The First Single Pronoun "Wo"(I) In Chinese Narratives

What's the function of the first single pronoun "wo"(I) in Chinese narratives? How does its anaphoric reference mechanism work in the context? How to write a native-like composition and acquire accurate comprehension of Chinese texts for Chinese learners while using the first single pronoun "wo"(I)? It is of practical importance in many aspects, such as teaching Chinese as a second language, Chinese testing and compiling textbooks.There are several parts in the introduction, concerning the purpose, previous research achievements, related terms' definition, unsolved problems and the applied theories and methods.The body of the thesis consists of four chapters.The first two chapters concentrate on discription of the linear and hierarchical structure of the first single pronoun "wo"(I) in Chinese narratives. Restrictive factors on zero-anaphora of "wo"(I) are mainly concerned in the following two chapters.Chapter one presents anaphora of "wo"(I) in different forms, their syntactic and pragmatic characteristics. Finally, the topic continuity of these forms are measured according to the method of "lookback" raised by Givon.At the very beginning of chapter two, the thesis analyzes hierarchical structure of three anaphora forms: "wo"(I), zero-anaphora and appellation noun. Based on the corpus of Chinese narratives, the part has random sampling & statistics about the distribution of "wo"(I) and its zero-anaphora in a pronominal unit. Then the relation between clauses is expounded. The last section of the chapter indicates the cycle of different pronominal units and the process of making up text.To begin with, it is fundamental for chapter three to discuss the restrictive factors on zero-anaphora of "wo"(I) from its semantic features. While "wo"(I) acts as subject, object or attribute, there are some restrictive factors on zero-anaphora of "wo"(I) which are caused by syntactic-semantic characteristics of the verbs and nouns related to "wo"(I).Chapter four continues to concern restrictive factors on zero-anaphora of "wo"(I) mainly based on discourse analysis, the following factors included: boundary words and expressions, the number of actors as subject, different relation between clauses, referential distance and information focus.Chapter five is about the conclusion and the further research in expectation, we can draw a tendentious conclusion about the anaphoric reference mechanism of "wo"(I).1) The degree of freedom of "Wo"(I) and zero-anaphora are higher than that of any other anaphora forms.However, zero-anaphora is the strongest in topic continuity.2) In a pronominal unit, the critical point of zero-anaphora of "wo"(I) is 5. The dominant number of zero-anaphora is 1-5 and more than 5 is in a low frequency. On the average, there is one zero-anaphora in a pronominal unit. The leading number of pronominal units in a paragraph ranges from 1 to 5.3)There exist some universal restrictive factors on zero-anaphora due to the syntactic-semantic characteristics of verbs and nouns related to "wo"(I).In terms of object, "wo" can not choose zero-anaphora. As for attribute, there are various restrictive factors, including the quantity of valence of nouns, definiteness or generic reference of nouns, the familiarity of the nouns modified by "wo"(especially the kin appellation nouns), and the non-compulsory factors of "Wo" in context.Therefore, the context mainly accounts for the choice of zero-anaphora.4) When used as subject, "wo" will appear in the form of zero-anaphora. "Wo" often appear after boundary words and expressions(especially after a pause).5) When "Wo" occupies the position of subject consistently, without other actors as subject, zero-anaphora can turn up to be subject of every clause.Yet there still exits randomness of the distribution of "wo". The total number of zero-anaphora of "wo" ranges from 0 to the total number of clauses. Whether the writer will use "wo" for anaphora or whether "wo" should appear in the subordinate clause or coordinate clause for anaphora, to a large extent, relys on the changes of subject.6) The principle of minimal referential distance is a most important element of using zero-anaphora while information focus contributes to the appearance of "wo" in specific context.