| Abstract |
Previous research on referring expressions in modern Chinese has mainly approached the issue from a “text-as-product” perspective, often neglecting the influence of register on the choice of referring... expressions. In contrast, this study is grounded in the concept of “discourse-as-process” perspective and explores the different behaviors of referring expressions in two types of registers: newspaper articles and conversations. The investigation revealed the following facts. Firstly, in newspaper articles, it is crucial for hearers to accurately identify specific characters or events. Consequently, referring expressions with ambiguity, such as personal pronouns and demonstratives, were not favored, and noun-based referring expressions were overwhelmingly preferred. Conversely, in conversations, there were numerous instances of situational references using first-person pronouns and contextual references using second-person and third-person pronouns (especially when referring to unspecified individuals). Finally, a commonality between newspaper articles and conversations was the minimal use of demonstrative.show more
|
Export Mendeley
3002_p001