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13. Anaphora and the Pragmatics–Syntax Interface

YAN HUANG


Subject Theoretical Linguistics » Pragmatics, Syntax

Key-Topics anaphora

DOI: 10.1111/b.9780631225485.2005.00015.x


Extract

A naphora can be defined as a relation between two linguistic elements, in which the interpretation of one (called an anaphor) is in some way determined by the interpretation of the other (called an antecedent). In terms of syntactic category, anaphora falls into two main groups: (i) NP-, including N-, anaphora, and (ii) VP-anaphora. From a truth-conditional, semantic point of view, anaphora can be divided into five types: (i) referential anaphora, (ii) bound-variable anaphora, (iii) E[vans]-type anaphora, (iv) anaphora of “laziness,” and (v) bridging cross-reference anaphora (cf. Huang 2000a: 2–7). Anaphora is at the center of research on the interface between syntax, semantics, and pragmatics in linguistic theory. It is also a key concern of psycho- and computational linguistics, and of work on the philosophy of language and on the linguistic component of cognitive science. It has aroused this interest for a number of reasons. In the first place, anaphora represents one of the most complex phenomena of natural language, the source of fascinating problems in its own right. Secondly, anaphora has long been regarded as one of the few “extremely good probes” (Chomsky 1982b: 23) in furthering our understanding of the nature of the human mind, and thus in facilitating an answer to what Chomsky (e.g. 1981, 1995c) considers to be the fundamental problem of linguistics, namely, the logical ... log in or subscribe to read full text

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