The space of coherence relations and their signalling in discourse

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-233
Author(s):  
Maite Taboada
Keyword(s):  
Essential Elements ◽  
Structure Theory ◽  
Rhetorical Structure ◽  
Discourse Coherence ◽  
Coherence Relations ◽  
Relational Coherence

Abstract I present an overview of the concept of coherence in discourse and explore how one of the essential elements to that coherence, relational coherence, has been studied and partitioned in different discourse traditions. I then introduce one of the theories that deals with discourse coherence, Rhetorical Structure Theory (RST). Through the description of RST, I investigate fundamental concepts in the study of coherence relations such as the classification of relations and their signalling in discourse.

scholarly journals Measuring discourse coherence in anomic aphasia using Rhetorical Structure Theory

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 406-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Pak-Hin Kong ◽  
Anastasia Linnik ◽  
Sam-Po Law ◽  
Waisa Wai-Man Shum
Keyword(s):  
Structure Theory ◽  
Rhetorical Structure ◽  
Discourse Coherence

NUCLEUS-SATELLITE MODEL OF DISCOURSE IN RHETORICAL STRUCTURE THEORY

2020 ◽  
pp. 104-116
Author(s):  
О.С. Филичева
Keyword(s):  
Structural Organization ◽  
Semantic Relations ◽  
Graphic Representation ◽  
Discourse Structure ◽  
Structure Theory ◽  
Text Generation ◽  
Structural Components ◽  
Rhetorical Structure

Постановка задачи. В статье рассматриваются механизмы порождения и понимания текста с опорой на положения теории риторической структуры (ТРС), разработанной У. Манном и С. Томпсон. Данная теория основана на идее структурно-функционального направления в лингвистике о том, что связь между формой и содержанием языковой единицы объясняется структурой зависимостей. Зависимость одной единицы языка от другой в новообразованном единстве трактуется как функция, которую выполняет языковая единица в речи, или дискурсе. ТРС представлена как модель анализа семантических отношений между ядерными (главными) и сателлитовыми (зависимыми) дискурсивными единицами, образующими когерентный текст. Результаты. Описаны разные подходы к определению дискурса и его структурных компонентов. Проанализирована ядерно-сателлитовая модель структуры дискурсивных единиц, предложенная У. Манном и С. Томпсон. Авторы ТРС подчеркивают, что в основе когерентности текста лежат риторические отношения, которые связывают единицы дискурса и способствуют адекватному кодированию и декодированию информации. Это объясняется тем, что ядерно-сателлитовая организация дискурсивных единиц распределяет фон и фокус смыслового восприятия текста адресатом. Выявлены правила графической репрезентации риторических отношений, а также принципы классификации асимметричных и симметричных, моноядерных и многоядерных риторических отношений. Выводы. Ядерность и иерархичность признаются ведущими принципами структурной организации дискурса в ТРС. Иерархичность прослеживается не только в смысловой и интенциональной выделенности ядра по отношению к сателлиту, но и в построении риторических отношений между дискурсивными единицами. Таким образом, ядерно-сателлитовая модель дискурса является эффективным функциональным способом производства и интерпретации текстов, применяемым для решения различных коммуникативных задач. Statement of the problem. The article gives an explanation of the text generation and interpretation according to the Rhetorical structure theory (RST), developed by W. Mann and S. Thompson. This theory is based on structural and functional approaches in linguistics, which present the relations between the form and the content of a language unit as the structure of dependencies. The dependency of one language unit on another in the newly formed unity is understood as a function performed by the language unit in speech or discourse. RST provides as a model for analyzing semantic relations between nucleus (main) and satellite (dependent) discursive units that form the coherence of the text. Results. Different approaches to defining discourse and its structural components are described. The nucleus-satellite model of the discourse structure proposed by W. Mann and S. Thompson is analyzed. The authors of RST emphasize that the coherence of the text is based on rhetorical relations that connect the units of discourse and contribute to the adequate coding and decoding of information. The nucleus-satellite organization of discursive units distributes the addressee`s focus of text perception. The principles of graphic representation of rhetorical relations are revealed, as well as the principles of classification of asymmetrical and symmetrical, mononucleus and multinucleus rhetorical relations. Conclusion. Nuclearity and hierarchy are recognized as the leading ways of discourse structural organization in RST. Hierarchy can be traced not only in the semantic and intentional allocation of the nucleus, but also in the structural organization of rhetorical relations among discursive units. Thus, a nucleus-satellite model of discourse serves as an effective functional principle to generate and interpret texts, which used to solve various communication tasks.

scholarly journals Coherence relations in academic spoken discourse

Linguistica ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 323-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliano Desiderato Antonio ◽  
Fernanda Trombini Rahmen Cassim
Keyword(s):  
Brazilian Portuguese ◽  
Structure Theory ◽  
Rhetorical Structure ◽  
Discourse Marker ◽  
Spoken Discourse ◽  
Coherence Relations ◽  
Discourse Relations

According to Rhetorical Structure Theory, implicit propositions emerge from the combination of pieces of text which hang together. Implicit propositions have received various labels as coherence relations, discourse relations, rhetorical relations or relational propositions. When two portions of a text hold a relation, the addressee of the text may recognize the connection even without the presence of a formal sign as a conjunction or a discourse marker. In this paper we claim that some intrinsic spoken discourse phenomena like paraphrasing, repetition, correction and parenthetical insertion hold coherence relations with other portions of discourse and, thus, may be considered strategies for the construction of coherence. The analysis, based on academic spoken discourse (five university lectures in Brazilian Portuguese), shows that these phenomena are recurring and relevant for the study of spoken discourse.

scholarly journals Unifying dimensions in coherence relations: How various annotation frameworks are related

2018 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ted J.M. Sanders ◽  
Vera Demberg ◽  
Jet Hoek ◽  
Merel C.J. Scholman ◽  
Fatemeh Torabi Asr ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Representation Theory ◽  
Structure Theory ◽  
Discourse Representation ◽  
Cognitive Approach ◽  
Discourse Representation Theory ◽  
Rhetorical Structure ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Coherence Relations ◽  
Annotated Corpora

AbstractIn this paper, we show how three often used and seemingly different discourse annotation frameworks – Penn Discourse Treebank (PDTB), Rhetorical Structure Theory (RST), and Segmented Discourse Representation Theory – can be related by using a set of unifying dimensions. These dimensions are taken from the Cognitive approach to Coherence Relations and combined with more fine-grained additional features from the frameworks themselves to yield a posited set of dimensions that can successfully map three frameworks. The resulting interface will allow researchers to find identical or at least closely related relations within sets of annotated corpora, even if they are annotated within different frameworks. Furthermore, we tested our unified dimension (UniDim) approach by comparing PDTB and RST annotations of identical newspaper texts and converting their original end label annotations of relations into the accompanying values per dimension. Subsequently, rates of overlap in the attributed values per dimension were analyzed. Results indicate that the proposed dimensions indeed create an interface that makes existing annotation systems “talk to each other.”

scholarly journals Classification of discourse coherence relations

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Wellner ◽  
James Pustejovsky ◽  
Catherine Havasi ◽  
Anna Rumshisky ◽  
Roser Saurí
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Coherence ◽  
Coherence Relations

Using Rhetorical Structure Theory to Assess Discourse Coherence for Non-native Spontaneous Speech

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinhao Wang ◽  
Binod Gyawali ◽  
James V. Bruno ◽  
Hillary R. Molloy ◽  
Keelan Evanini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spontaneous Speech ◽  
Structure Theory ◽  
Rhetorical Structure ◽  
Discourse Coherence

How do applied linguistics researchers structure coherence relations in the process of establishing a niche for their research?

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomoyuki Kawase
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Contextual Information ◽  
Applied Linguistics ◽  
Structure Theory ◽  
Research Articles ◽  
Genre Analysis ◽  
Rhetorical Structure ◽  
Real World Problem ◽  
Coherence Relations ◽  
Selection Of

Abstract This study is an extension of previous research on how writers of research articles (RAs) structure their texts to be coherent in the process of achieving communicative purposes of the RA genre. It examines how RA writers relate sentences in establishing a niche for their studies in the introduction section. Genre analysis methods and Rhetorical Structure Theory are used to analyse 40 applied linguistics RA introductions. The findings show that the RA writers who establish a niche by indicating a gap in previous research tend to use a concessive or contrastive relation to relate the gap statements to the descriptions of previous studies. The writers who establish a niche by indicating how their studies would extend previous research in the field tend to use a background relation to claim a niche based on the specific studies. The writers who indicate a real world problem for the niche establishment tend to use a background relation to reveal a niche based on contextual information surrounding the problem. Possible reasons for the selection of the relations are discussed in terms of the influence of the nature of the RA genre and/or the applied linguistics discipline.

scholarly journals Cataphoric it and backgrounding from the point of view of coherence relations

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 2
Author(s):  
Maite Taboada
Keyword(s):  
Point Of View ◽  
Structure Theory ◽  
Rhetorical Structure ◽  
Discourse Referent ◽  
Coherence Relations

Following Harris & Bates’ (2002) observation that cataphora is allowed in subordinate backgrounded clauses, we examine backgrounding at the discourse level, making use of the nucleus-satellite distinction in Rhetorical Structure Theory (Mann & Thompson 1988). We extract examples of cataphoric it in an RST-annotated corpus and conclude that there is no strict correlation between cataphora and backgrounding, as cataphoric it appears in both nuclei and satellites. Using diagnostics in Ariel (1990), we propose that the occurrence of cataphora in nuclei is explained by: (i) cohesion, and (ii) first mention versus continuation of a discourse referent.

Kekoherensian Wacana Iklan Komersial dalam Website Softbank: Kajian Analisis Wacana

Metahumaniora ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 115
Author(s):  
Desi Damayanti
Keyword(s):  
Data Analysis ◽  
Shared Knowledge ◽  
Rhetorical Structure ◽  
Coherence Relations ◽  
Coherence Factors

ABSTRAKJepang merupakan negara dengan tiga perusahaan telekomunikasi ternama didunia, salah satunya SoftBank, sehingga perusahaan tersebut menggunakan berbagaicara kreatif untuk mempromosikan produknya, termasuk melalui media iklankomersial. Sells dan Gonzalez (dalam Astuti, 2005:3) menyatakan bahwa bahasa dalamiklan sedikit menyimpang dari kaidah tata bahasa, yang mempengaruhi keterpaduanmaknanya (koherensi). Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mengidentifikasipenanda kekoherensian, hubungan kekoherensian serta faktor penyebab terjadinyakekoherensian pada wacana iklan komersial dalam website SoftBank yang dianalisisberlandaskan pada teori struktur iklan Bolen (1984), struktur retorika Mann danThompson (1988) serta koherensi Ramlan (1993). Penulis menggunakan metodedeskriptif analisis dalam penelitian ini. Dari hasil analisis data, teridentifikasi bahwapenanda kekoherensian yang sering muncul berjenis perturutan, contohnya seperti“maka dari itu”. Kemudian terdapat tiga jenis hubungan koherensi yang sering munculdalam kedua belas wacana iklan komersial tersebut, yakni uraian, latar belakang danurutan. Faktor penyebab kekoherensian adalah adanya pengetahuan yang dibagibersama (shared knowledge) dari pengiklan kepada konsumen, sehingga konsumendapat mengetahui dan ingin tahu lebih lanjut mengenai isi iklan.Kata kunci: wacana, iklan komersial, koherensi, struktur iklan, struktur retorikaABSTRACTJapan is a country with top three telecommunication brand companies in theworld, one of them is Softbank. This company uses a variety of methods to promote theirproducts, including the use of commercial ads. Sells and Gonzalez (from Astuti, 2005:3)declare that ads have a bit linguistic deviation that affecting the unity of meaning(coherence). The aim of this research is to identify the coherence markers, coherencerelations and coherence factors of SoftBank’s commercial adverting discourse (CAD)analyzed based on advertising theory from Bolen (1984) and rhetorical structure theoryfrom Mann and Thompson (1988) and Ramlan (1984). The writers use descriptivemethod in this research. The results of data analysis, it is identified that coherencemarkers like continuation are often used, for example “therefore”.Then, the twelve CADshave three kinds of coherence relations that often come in the CAD, such as elaboration,background, and sequence. The factor of the coherence is a sharing a knowledge fromadvertiser to consumer, so that consumer can be informed and want to know more aboutthe content of the ads.Keywords: discourse, commercial ads, coherence, ad’s structure, rhetorical structure

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