Dependency Structures from Syntax to Discourse
Hongxin Zhang, "Dependency Structures from Syntax to Discourse"
English | ISBN: 1032567104 | 2023 | 296 pages | EPUB, PDF | 5 MB + 36 MB
English | ISBN: 1032567104 | 2023 | 296 pages | EPUB, PDF | 5 MB + 36 MB
Based on the large corpora of journalistic English, this title examines dependency relations and related properties at both syntactic and discourse levels, seeking to unravel the language patterns of real-life usage.
With a focus on rank-frequency distribution, the author investigates the distribution of linguistic properties/units from the perspectives of properties, motifs and sequencings. At the syntactic level, the book analyses the following three dimensions: various combinations of a complete dependency structure, valency and dependency distance. At the discourse level, it proves that the elements can also form dependency relations by exploring (1) the rank-frequency distribution of Rhetorical Structure Theory relations, their motifs, discourse valency and discourse dependency distance; (2) whether there is top-down organisation or an inverted pyramid structure at all the three discourse levels; and (3) whether discourse dependency distances and valencies are lawfully distributed, following the same distribution patterns as those at the syntactic level.
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