摘要
本文旨在研究英汉下指的认知机制。基于Chafe的激活代价理论,我们发现下指的罕见性是由于理解下指所付出的认知代价过高所致,而且理解各类下指所付出的认知代价和它们的分布特征成反比。下指语及其后行语突显的不对称性提示读者出现在句首的零形代词或代词将成为当前主题或标志着当前主题的结束及另一个主题的开始。
The present paper aims to investigate the cognitive mechanism of cataphora in English and Chinese texts. Based on Chafe＇ s Activation Cost Theory, the author finds that the rarity of cataphora is due to the higher cognitive cost involved in its interpretation and the cognitive cost in the interpretation of different types of cataphora is in inverse proportion to their distributional pattern. The prominence asymmetry between cataphor and its postcedent instructs the reader to construe the zero pronoun or pronoun in the sentence initial position as the current topic or as a signal for the termination of the current topic and the start of a new one.
出处
《西安外国语大学学报》
2010年第3期7-10,13,共5页
Journal of Xi’an International Studies University
关键词
下指
激活代价
分布特征
认知处理
cataphora
activation cost
distributional pattern
cognitive processing
