Natural Language Processing · TEE · papers
Q1d · Pragmatics and discourse
2024-12-03 · final · recovered AI paper
Previous examination · complete worked answers
Answer
Pragmatic analysis interprets an utterance using its situation and the speaker’s intended meaning. Discourse analysis studies how utterances connect across a text or conversation. Syntax and literal word meanings alone cannot settle every interpretation.
| Text | Literal content | Contextual interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| “Can you close the window?” | A question about ability. | Usually a polite request. |
| “Meera bought a laptop. It was expensive.” | Two sentences. | “It” connects the second sentence to the laptop. |
| “Meet me here tomorrow.” | An instruction. | Me, here and tomorrow depend on speaker, place and date. |
Reference, mention and antecedent
A referring expression points to an entity; a mention is its occurrence in the text. Its referent is the entity being discussed. An antecedent is a preceding expression used to interpret a later referring expression. Reference resolution identifies the intended referent. Coreference resolution groups mentions that refer to the same entity.
| Concept | Definition | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Anaphora | Reference back to something introduced earlier. | “Riya arrived. She sat down.” She → Riya. |
| Cataphora | Reference forward to a later expression. | “Before she spoke, Riya checked the microphone.” she → Riya. |
| Exophora | Reference to the situation outside the text. | “Put it there”, said while pointing. |
| Coreference | Two or more mentions refer to the same entity. | “Dr Rao”, “the lecturer”, “she”. |
| Pronoun resolution | Find the referent of a pronoun. | Resolve “it” in “The laptop stopped because it overheated.” |
Coreference is broader than pronoun resolution: repeated names and descriptions also form a chain. Anaphora describes direction/dependence; coreference describes identity. In “I bought a car. The engine is noisy”, engine is related to the car but is not the same entity.
Yaad rakho: Reference = kiski baat? Coreference = alag mentions, same entity. Pronoun resolution = he/she/it kis se linked?
Cohesion, coherence and discourse markers
Cohesion is the explicit linguistic linking of a text through reference, repeated or related words, conjunctions and other devices. In “Rita bought a book. She read it”, she and it connect the second sentence to Rita and the book.
Coherence is the conceptual unity that makes a discourse meaningful. “The road flooded, so the match was cancelled” presents a plausible cause and consequence. A reader relates the propositions using context and knowledge.
Discourse markers signal relationships or organize speech: however signals contrast; therefore signals a result; first and next signal sequence; for example introduces an illustration.
These concepts differ: “I like apples. Therefore the moon is square” has a linking word but no sensible inference. A connector alone does not guarantee coherence.
Yaad rakho: Cohesion = words se link; coherence = meaning se link; marker = relation ka signal.