LINGUIST List 20.109: Ling Theories/Syntax/Text/Corpus Ling: Fontaine: 'A Systemic ...'

LINGUIST List 20.109

Tue Jan 13 2009

Diss: Ling Theories/Syntax/Text/Corpus Ling: Fontaine: 'A Systemic ...'

Editor for this issue: Evelyn Richter <evelynlinguistlist.org>

1. Lise Fontaine, A Systemic Functional Approach to Referring Expressions: Reconsidering postmodification in the nominal group

Message 1: A Systemic Functional Approach to Referring Expressions: Reconsidering postmodification in the nominal group
Date: 12-Jan-2009
From: Lise Fontaine <FontaineLcardiff.ac.uk>
Subject: A Systemic Functional Approach to Referring Expressions: Reconsidering postmodification in the nominal group
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Institution: Cardiff University Program: Centre for Language and Communication Dissertation Status: Completed Degree Date: 2008

Author: Lise M Fontaine

Dissertation Title: A Systemic Functional Approach to Referring Expressions: Reconsidering postmodification in the nominal group

Linguistic Field(s): Linguistic Theories Syntax Text/Corpus Linguistics
Dissertation Director:
Gordon H. Tucker
Dissertation Abstract:

This thesis explores the relevant systems which model the choices speakersmake when referring to objects. Referring expressions have receivedrelatively little attention in Systemic Functional Linguistics, althoughfrom a purely structural perspective some work has attempted to account forpostmodification in the nominal group. The main goal of this thesis is toproduce a theoretical and analytical approach to referring expressionsincluding complex referring expressions in particular. This requires ashift in perspective from structural ('nominal group') to functional('referring expression').

The research presented in this thesis has three main aims:

- to develop a methodology for analysing referring expressions followingthe system networks as closely as possible. The thesis offers considerabledetail concerning the methodology developed, including the tagging of threecorpora. The analytical framework taken adapts as closely as possible therelevant system networks for referring expressions. This offers a betterunderstanding of the interaction between the various functional componentsof these expressions.

- to contribute to the systemic functional theoretical model of language inthe area of referring expressions by presented a detailed description ofreferring expressions. This includes the frequency and interaction of thevarious functional components of referring expressions with attention tovariation and stability over individuals and text type.

- to develop a new theory of complex referring expressions which is basedon systemic choice rather than on structural or lexical classification. Asa result, the main theoretical contribution of this thesis is a newperspective on complex referring expressions. This perspective explores thetransitivity patterns of these expressions and it also revises the systemnetwork for 'thing'.

In addition the thesis has produced an XML database of over 3,000 fullyanalysed referring expressions and a second database including detailedcoding of complex referring expressions.