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Article published In:
International Journal of Corpus Linguistics
Vol. 27:1 (2022) ► pp.59–92

The syntax and semantics of coherence relations

From relative configurations to predictive signals

ORCID logo | Ghent University

This corpus-based study investigates the inter-relation between discourse markers (DMs) and other contextual signals that contribute to the interpretation of coherence relations. The objectives are three-fold: (i) to provide a comprehensive and systematic portrait of the syntax and semantics of a set of coherence relations in English; (ii) to draw a distinction between mere tendencies of co-occurrence and strong predictive signals; (iii) to identify factors that account for the variation of these signals, focusing on relation complexity, DM strength and genre preferences. The methodology combines systematic coding (description) and multivariate statistical modelling (prediction). While the effect of genre and relation complexity was found to be null or moderate, the presence of discourse signals systematically varies with the ambiguity of the DM in the relation: signals co-occur more with ambiguous DMs than with more informative ones.

Keywords: discourse markers, discourse signals, underspecification, usage-based, cognitive complexity
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Coherence relations and their signals
    • 2.1Coherence relations
    • 2.2The polyfunctionality of discourse markers
    • 2.3Other discourse signals
    • 2.4Interaction between relations and signals: Hypotheses
  • 3.Method
    • 3.1Corpus data
    • 3.2Discourse marker annotation
      • 3.2.1Identification of discourse markers
      • 3.2.2Functional taxonomy
      • 3.2.3Discourse signals analysis
  • 4.Results: From configurations to predictive signals of coherence relations
    • 4.1Configurations vs. signals across relations and genres
    • 4.2Configurations vs. signals across degrees of DM strength
  • 5.Discussion: Limitations of the present approach to co-occurring signals
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 21 January 2022
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ijcl.19109.cri
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