A Cognitive Resolution to Non-Stereotypical Definite Indirect Anaphora

Abstract

It is intended to explore the distribution of non-stereotypical definite indirect anaphora in news reports, and its cognitive resolution mechanism. The proposed resolution mechanism, formed by integrating the Accessibility theory and the Frame model, assumes that the interpretation of the definite indirect anaphora is the integration of the anaphor into a decisive frame, which is part and parcel of the frames activated by the antecedent trigger and the anaphor. While the anaphor is quite recognizable due to its fixed form of definite articles plus the nominal, the antecedent trigger is much more complicated to be identified. Therefore, a knowledge of the general tendency of the occurrence of the antecedent trigger is helpful to delimit the searching scope. The linguistic clues which function as a guide to the antecedent trigger information can be categorized into 4 types: the headline or the news lead, textual description, frame-heralding markers and punctuation marks. It is hoped that an alternative of understanding the non-stereotypical definite indirect anaphora from the cognitive perspective will be provided.