scholarly journals Examples and Specifications that Prove a Point: Identifying Elaborative and Argumentative Discourse Relations

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 56-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Merel C.J. Scholman ◽  
Vera Demberg
Keyword(s):  
Argumentative Discourse ◽  
Discourse Relations ◽  
Annotation Study

Examples and specifications occur frequently in text, but not much is known about how they function in discourse and how readers interpret them. Looking at how they’re annotated in existing discourse corpora, we find that annotators often disagree on these types of relations; specifically, there is disagreement about whether these relations are elaborative (additive) or argumentative (pragmatic causal). To investigate how readers interpret examples and specifications, we conducted a crowdsourced discourse annotation study. The results show that these relations can indeed have two functions: they can be used to both illustrate/specify a situation and serve as an argument for a claim. These findings suggest that examples and specifications can have multiple simultaneous readings. We discuss the implications of these results for discourse annotation. 

scholarly journals The licensing condition on clausal ellipsis

2014 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 13-25
Author(s):  
Enrico Boone
Keyword(s):  
Direct Relation ◽  
Discourse Relations ◽  
Discourse Units

This paper is concerned with the correct characterization of the licensing condition on clausal ellipsis and how it relates to the distribution of ellipsis. I argue, essentially following López (2000), that ellipsis is licensed when the ellipsis clause bears a relation to an antecedent in the discourse component. A relation between two discourse units can be established in two ways: (1) Either there holds a direct relation between the two discourse units or (2) there holds an anaphoric relation mediated by a discourse anaphor. In this paper, I show how this two-way distinction in setting up discourse relations accounts for the two-way split we find in the distribution of ellipsis.

Reasoning and Appraisal in Multimodal Argumentation

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 419-438
Author(s):  
Ting Wu
Keyword(s):  
New Media ◽  
Appraisal Theory ◽  
Visual Modality ◽  
Argumentative Discourse ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Sound System ◽  
Multimodal Discourse ◽  
Semantic Resources ◽  
Argumentative Reasoning

AbstractThe development of new media enlarges the repertoire of semantic resources in creating a discourse. Apart from language, visual and sound symbols can all become semantic sources, and a synergy of different modality and symbols can be used to complete argumentative reasoning and evaluation. In the framework of multimodal argumentation and appraisal theory, this study conducted quantitative and multimodal discourse analysis on a new media discourse Building a community of shared future for humankind and found that visual symbols can independently fulfill both reasoning and evaluation in the argumentative discourse. An interplay of multiple modalities constructs a multi-layered semantic source, with verbal subtitles as a frame and a sound system designed to reinforce the theme and mood. In addition, visual modality is implicit in constructing the stance and evaluation of the discourse, with the verbal mode playing the role of “anchoring,” i.e. providing explicit explanation. A synergy of visual, acoustic, and verbal modalities could effectively transmit conceptual, interpersonal, and discursive meanings, but the persuasive result with the audience from different cultural backgrounds might be mixed.

scholarly journals Sense classification of shallow discourse relations with focused RNNs

PLoS ONE ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. e0206057
Author(s):  
Gregor Weiss ◽  
Marko Bajec
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Relations
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