Zero anaphora in discourse Summary

3.13 Zero anaphora in discourse

Once a referent has been activated, a zero reference is used until a new referent is activated, or there is some other discontinuity in the text. The use of a zero reference signals to the hearer that the referent is active. An example of this is seen in 100, where the orphans aunt is the active participant at this point in the narrative. In Orphan.016 she is referred to using the noun maʔˈkɨn aunt. She remains the active referent, and this is signalled by subsequent null references to her in Orphan.017 and Orphan.018. 100Orphan.016 mɨɑ when liɑŋ raise jɔh DUR liɑŋ raise ɡɑɑj DUR mɑʔkɨn aunt ɡɔʔ so_then ləəj directly srˈʔɔh hate ɡəə 3sgm niʔ this While raising him as time went on, the aunt began to hate him. Orphan.017 Ø aunt srˈʔɔh hate ɡəə 3sgm niʔ this Ø aunt sɑj use ɡəə 3sgm tɛɛŋ do wiɑk work Ø aunt sɑj use ɡəə 3sgm jɔh go kʰii here jɔh go nɑɑj there lɛʔ and Ø aunt ʔɑm NEG ʔɑn allow ɡəə 3sgm bəʔ eat mɑh rice Hating him, she used him to work, used him to go here and go there, and did not allow him to eat rice. Orphan.018 ʔɑn COND ɡəə 3sgm bəʔ eat Ø aunt ɡɔʔ so_then ʔɑn allow ɡəə 3sgm bəʔ eat dɛk a_little Ø aunt ʔɑm NEG ʔɑn allow ɡəə 3sgm bəʔ eat mɑɑk many If he ate, then she allowed him to eat a little; she didnt allow him to eat much.

3.14 Summary

An inventory of Kmhmu referring expressions and a summary of their functions in discourse is given in Table 12. 77 Table 12: Inventory and Functions of Kmhmu Referring Expressions Referring expression occurrences in study Discourse function NPs with nonrestrictive attributive modifiers 56 introduce unidentifiable referents signal salience by amount of encoding signal role of referent in narrative by content of modifiers NPs with restrictive attributive modifiers 72 identify accessible referents using unique attributes or events possessive phrases 127 possessive phrases with deʔ 8 anchor unidentifiable referents individuatespecify unidentifiable referents locate identifiable referents in the discourse world focus attention on the possesesor NPs with classifier phrases 37 signal specificity of a referent introduce an unidentifiable, thematically salient referent NPs with determiners 238 point to referents in the discourse world point to referents in the speech situation point to previous segments of text signal identifiable referents disambiguate accessible referents signal thematic salience of referents identify inactive referents Proper nouns 57 introduce unidentifiable referents disambiguate identifiable referents anchor unidentifiable referents act as terms of address Kin terms 131 signal non-major participants communicate cultural information act as terms of address anchor unidentifiable referents re-activate accessible referents highlight the relationship between 2 referents Pronouns 433 introduce unidentifiable referents through deixis signal backgrounding of an agent when the patient or event is in focus mitigate emotive force through generic reference disambiguate male and female participants 78 Referring expression occurrences in study Discourse function reiterate participant identity at text discontinuities signal co-referentiality highlight a participant through emphasis signal backgrounded events Pronominal constructions • appositional pronoun phrases and pronoun phrases with classifiers 4 • pronoun phrases with determiners 8 reiterate participant identity at text discontinuities disambiguate accessible referents signal re-activation of an accessible referent signal an identifiable, thematically salient referent Classifier phrases 95 refer to and quantify identifiable referents mark text boundaries Demonstratives 34 point to referents in speech setting signal identifiable, thematically salient referents point to previous segments of text Sɨŋ constructions 11 add descriptive or explanatory information about referents refer to events accessible from the text Zero anaphora 341 signals an active referent The amount and type of linguistic encoding in a referring expression reflects both the mental effort required by the hearer to identify a referent, and the thematic salience of that referent. In the Kmhmu inventory of referring expressions, the speaker is equipped with a wide range of options to clearly signal the identifiability, activation status and thematic salience of referents in narrative discourse. 79

Chapter 4 Participant Identification Patterns

Having identified the Kmhmu inventory of referring expressions and characterised their various functions in discourse in Chapter 3, this chapter explores the patterns of use of these referring expressions in participant identification in narrative text. The participant identification system of a language consists of the rules and patterns of reference and identification that enable the hearer to know who is doing or experiencing what Callow 1974:30. This system provides for introduction and tracking of participants, signalling participant rank, resolving ambiguities, and maintaining cohesion across discontinuity boundaries. A description of the ranking system and methods of introduction for participants is given, followed by the proposed default patterns for reference throughout a Kmhmu narrative. Exceptions to these patterns are discussed, with suggested motivations for deviations from the default patterns. By way of introduction to this analysis, a literature review of some theoretical approaches to examining participant identification systems is presented, followed by a description of the methodology used in this study.

4.1 Theoretical approach to participant identification analysis

According to Dooley and Levinsohn 2001 participant reference systems need to fulfil semantic, discourse-pragmatic, and processing functions. Semantically, they must identify referents clearly, disambiguating them from other plausible referents. The greater the risk of ambiguity, the greater the amount of coding material used in a referring expression. The discourse-pragmatic functions have been discussed more fully in section 3.1.2 Identifiability, activation status and thematic salience, and are summarised here. The patterns of participant identification reflect whether the participant is identifiable to the hearer or is a brand new participant. If a participant is