scholarly journals Signaling of Causal Relations in Spanish: Variety, Functionality, and Specificity

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-61
Author(s):  
Romualdo Ibáñez ◽  
Fernando Moncada ◽  
Benjamín Cárcamo ◽  
Valentina Marín
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Markers ◽  
Causal Relations ◽  
Coherence Relations ◽  
Causal Coherence ◽  
Relationship Of

While some recent studies on Spanish have shown that some causal discourse markers specialize in expressing certain types of causal relations, others have revealed that causal relations may be signaled by a variety of linguistic devices. Given that we were interested not only in specificity and variety, but also in the (poly) functionality of signals, our objective in the present study was threefold. First, to identify the variety of markers used to signal causal relations in Spanish. Second, to describe the (poly) functionality of those causal markers. Third, to determine whether there exists a relationship of specificity between markers and particular types of causal relations. We analyzed a corpus of 2,514 causal coherence relations previously annotated. 40 different linguistic devices used to signal causal relations were identified. These devices were grouped into two main classes: Discourse Markers and Cue Phrases. Regarding the (poly) functionality of the markers, we found that 8 of the most frequent markers were used to signal different relations. Regarding specificity, it was observed that various conjunctions and conjunctive adverbs specialize in signaling specific relations.

scholarly journals Processing of positive-causal and negative-causal coherence relations in primary school children and adults: a test of the cumulative cognitive complexity approach in German

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 297-328 ◽  
Author(s):  
JULIA KNOEPKE ◽  
TOBIAS RICHTER ◽  
MAJ-BRITT ISBERNER ◽  
JOHANNES NAUMANN ◽  
YVONNE NEEB ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary School ◽  
School Children ◽  
Cognitive Complexity ◽  
Text Comprehension ◽  
Cognitive Effort ◽  
Primary School Children ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Task Support ◽  
Coherence Relations ◽  
Causal Coherence

AbstractEstablishing local coherence relations is central to text comprehension. Positive-causal coherence relations link a cause and its consequence, whereas negative-causal coherence relations add a contrastive meaning (negation) to the causal link. According to the cumulative cognitive complexity approach, negative-causal coherence relations are cognitively more complex than positive-causal ones. Therefore, they require greater cognitive effort during text comprehension and are acquired later in language development. The present cross-sectional study tested these predictions for German primary school children from Grades 1 to 4 and adults in reading and listening comprehension. Accuracy data in a semantic verification task support the predictions of the cumulative cognitive complexity approach. Negative-causal coherence relations are cognitively more demanding than positive-causal ones. Moreover, our findings indicate that children's comprehension of negative-causal coherence relations continues to develop throughout the course of primary school. Findings are discussed with respect to the generalizability of the cumulative cognitive complexity approach to German.

How subjective are Mandarin reason connectives?

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 166-211
Author(s):  
Hongling Xiao ◽  
Fang Li ◽  
Ted J. M. Sanders ◽  
Wilbert P. M. S. Spooren
Keyword(s):  
Speech Act ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Coherence Relations ◽  
Comprehensive Picture ◽  
Causal Coherence ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Empirical Database ◽  
Specific Profile

Abstract Studies in several languages find that causal connectives differ from one another in their prototypical meaning and use, which provides insight into language users’ cognitive categorization of causal relations in discourse. Subjectivity plays a vital role in this process. Using an integrated subjectivity approach, this study aims to give a comprehensive picture of the semantic-pragmatic distinctions between Mandarin reason connectives jìrán ‘since’, yīnwèi and yóuyú ‘because’. The data come from spontaneous conversation, microblog, and newspaper discourse, while most previous studies have focused only on written data. The results show that, despite the contextual differences in discourse from each corpus, the connectives display distinctive and robust profiles. Jìrán is subjective. It prototypically expresses speech act and epistemic causalities featuring speech act and judgment in the consequent. Speaker SoC (subject of consciousness) is actively involved yet remains implicit in the utterances. Yóuyú, by contrast, is objective. It typically expresses volitional and non-volitional content causalities featuring the consequent of physical act and fact, which are usually independent of SoCs. Yīnwèi is neutral in general, with a slight preference to volitional content and epistemic relations, to the consequent of fact, and to speaker SoC. Only one interaction with discourse style is found: in relations introduced by yīnwèi, the linguistic realization of the SoC varies across corpora: significantly more implicit yet few explicit cases in microblogs, yet the opposite is true in conversations. The specific profile of yīnwèi, depending on the ordering of the antecedent and the consequent, is robust across corpora. Furthermore, the relative importance of the associated subjectivity features is determined. In conclusion, the study contributes to our understanding of causal coherence and extends the empirical database that supports the claims of a cognitive account of causal coherence relations.

ON SOME VARIATION IN THE USE OF DISCOURSE MARKERS BY CZECH AND GERMAN STUDENTS OF ENGLISH

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 41
Author(s):  
Renata Povolná
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Discourse Markers ◽  
Cultural Variation ◽  
Discourse Communities ◽  
Academic English ◽  
Academic Texts ◽  
Coherence Relations ◽  
Contrastive Discourse Markers ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Novice Writers

Since recent studies on academic English have shown considerable cross-cultural variation in texts written by non-native speakers (Clyne 1987, Ventola & Mauranen 1991, Čmejrková & Daneš 1997, Duszak 1997, Chamonikolasová 2005, Stašková 2005, Mur- Dueňas 2008, Wagner 2011, Dontcheva-Navratilova 2012, Povolná 2012), the paper investigates a corpus of diploma theses written by Czech and German students of English with the aim of fi nding out how novice non-native writers from different discourse communities (Swales 2004) use causal and contrastive discourse markers (DMs) associated with hypotactic and paratactic relations in order to build coherence relations (Taboada 2006) in academic texts. In addition, the author attempts to fi nd out whether there is any variation in the preferences of novice writers depending on the different fi elds of study, i.e. diploma theses written in the areas of linguistics and methodology, and whether the use of selected DMs by Czech and German students differs from the writing habits of native speakers of English.

scholarly journals Pragmatic Markers in English and Arabic Religious Speeches: A Contrastive Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Omar Raad Adwan ◽  
Prof Dr Addulkarim Fadhil Jameel
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Analytical Study ◽  
Discourse Markers ◽  
Arabic Language ◽  
Prepositional Phrase ◽  
Standard English ◽  
Standard Arabic ◽  
Contrastive Study ◽  
Pragmatic Markers ◽  
Relationship Of

This paper attempt to approach PMs from pragma-discoursal view and conducts a contrastive analytical study in selected English and Arabic religious speeches; more specifically selected religious speeches of Imam Ali (PBUH) as representative of Standard Arabic language and Prophet Al-Maseh Ibn Maryam (PBUH) as representative of Standard English language. Supposedly, PMs are considerably adopted in any language according to Fraser (2005) ‘‘there is a class of lexical expressions in every language called pragmatic markers’’ (cited in Fischer, 2006:189). Notably, there is no consensus on the term PMs as linguistic and paralinguistic particles; hence many researchers have labelled those particles as discourse markers, connectives, and pragmatic markers …etc. Mainly, those linguistic tools signal a relationship of elaboration, contrast, inference or temporality between adjacent messages. Fraser (2005:8) claims that they may appear in five syntactic categories: coordinate conjunction, subordinate conjunction, preposition, prepositional phrase and adverb. This study discusses the quali-quanti results after examining Fraser (2005) model applicability on the aforementioned selected religious speeches by Imam Ali (PBUH) and Prophet Al-Maseh Ibn Maryam (PBUH).

De Verwerving van de Negatief Causale Relatie

1995 ◽  
Vol 53 ◽  
pp. 83-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanny den Ouden
Keyword(s):  
Causal Relation ◽  
Psychological Status ◽  
World Knowledge ◽  
Causal Relations ◽  
Test Base ◽  
Coherence Relations ◽  
Coherence Relation ◽  
The Right

Sanders, Spooren and Noordman (1992) provide a classification of coherence relations that is based on four primitives. These primitives are claimed to have a psychological status, in that hearers and speakers use their knowledge of these primitives to infer the right coherence relation between two clauses. The order in which children acquire coherence relations provides a test base for the classification: the classification predicts that negative causal relations are the most complex and that children therefore acquire these relations later than any of the others. This hypothesis was investigated in an experiment with 8- and 11-year-old children. In one task the children had to infer the right relation, in another task the children had to produce the right relation. Negative causal relations were compared with negative additive and positive causal relations. The items were constructed with nonsense words to eliminate the factor of world knowledge. In several respects the negative causal relation turned out to be the most complex.

Introduction: Discourse markers and coherence relations

1998 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodie Risselada ◽  
Wilbert Spooren
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Markers ◽  
Coherence Relations

scholarly journals Analisis Koherensi dan Kohesi Teks Deskripsi

HUMANIS ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 185
Author(s):  
I Putu Ari Putra Maulana ◽  
I Made Madia
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Discourse Theory ◽  
Public High School ◽  
Causal Relations ◽  
Lexical Cohesion ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

This study was titled "Coherence and Cohesion Analysis on the Text of Description for Class X Students of Denpasar Public High School 5". The problems examined in this study are three, namely the element of coherence, the tools of lexical cohesion, and the tools of grammatical cohesion in the text description of class X students of SMA 5 Denpasar. Based on the formulation of the problem, this study aims to explain the relationship of meaning or coherence, and describe the tools of lexical and grammatical cohesion. The theory used is discourse theory, namely coherence proposed by Kridalaksana and cohesion proposed by Halliday and R. Hasan. Based on the analysis that has been done on the description text of class X students of Denpasar Public High School 5 found several things. First, in the description text of class X Denpasar Public High School 5 found an element of coherence including causal relations, means-results, reasons, background-conclusions, concessions, comparisons, paraphrases, amplicatives, time additives (simultaneous and successive ), non-time additives, identification, generic-specific, means-purpose, and like. Second, lexical cohesion tools found include repetition (repetition), equivalent words (synonyms), opposite words (antonyms), word sanding (collocation), and equivalence (equivalence). Third, the tools of grammatical cohesion found include reference (reference), concatenation (conjunction), lapse (elipsis).

scholarly journals A cognitive account of subjectivity put to the test: using an insertion task to investigate Mandarin result connectives

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongling Xiao ◽  
Roeland W. N. M. van Hout ◽  
Ted J. M. Sanders ◽  
Wilbert P. M. S. Spooren
Keyword(s):  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Comprehensive Model ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Causal Relations ◽  
Test Items ◽  
Linguistic Markers ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Causal Coherence ◽  
Epistemic Dimension

Abstract This article aims to further test the cognitive claims of the so-called subjectivity account of causal events and their linguistic markers, causal connectives. We took Mandarin Chinese, a language that is typologically completely different from the usual western languages, as a case to provide evidence for this subjectivity account. Complementary to the commonly used corpora analyses, we employed crowdsourcing to tap native speakers’ intuitions about causal coherence, focusing on four result connectives kějiàn ‘therefore’, suǒyǐ ‘so’, yīncǐ ‘so/for this reason’ and yúshì ‘thereupon/as a result’. The analysis shows systematic differences regarding the use of connectives in relations that differ in terms of subjectivity, demonstrating that native speakers make use of subjectivity to encode and decode different types of causal relations in discourse. Moreover, our study evidences that a comprehensive model of subjectivity should include the epistemic dimension of certainty about the subjectivity scale that might be indicated by other linguistic elements. In-depth analyses of the test items revealed that the presence/absence of modality words in the result segments are related to different preferential patterns for the connectives. There is a trade-off between the epistemic dimension of certainty and the expression of subjectivity in the four connectives involved.

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