1st Edition
Null Subjects in Chinese Discourse A Centering-Theoretic Perspective
By Shuangshuang Chen
Copyright 2027
178 Pages
4 B/W Illustrations
by
Routledge
This book explains how Mandarin Chinese often leaves the subject unspoken and how readers can still work out 'who' or 'what' is being talked about by identifying patterns in connected discourse.
Drawing on a carefully compiled corpus of balanced genres, the book illustrates where missing subjects tend to occur and how their meaning is inferred from context. It provides a clear, practical... Read more
1. Introduction 2. Null Subjects: Definitions, Typology, and Cross-Linguistic Perspectives 3. Theoretical Framework: Centering Theory and Discourse Models 4. Data and Methodology 5. Discourse Functions of Null Subjects 6. Resolution of Null Subjects: Models and Computational Approaches 7. Concluding Remarks
Biography
Shuangshuang Chen is a Lecturer at the Institute of Modern Languages and Linguistics, Fudan University. Her research examines Chinese discourse at the syntax-pragmatics interface, with interests in discourse coherence, computational approaches to anaphora resolution, and pragmatics of reference in social media.
