Metonymy and Anaphoric Reference: Anaphoric Reference to a Metonymic Antecedent in Dude, Where’s My Country, Stupid White Men, The Da Vinci Code and Deception Point

Departing from the postulates of Ruiz de Mendoza and his collaborators on metonymic anaphora (Ruiz de Mendoza 1997, 1999; Ruiz de Mendoza; Otal 2002; Ruiz de Mendoza; Díez 2004), this paper analyzes some of the most outstanding cases of anaphoric reference to a metonymic antecedent in four best sellers. Antecedent selection turns up problematic in certain cases. These difficulties are considerably reduced, however, by means of the distinction between simple and double metonymies, and some constraints and principles that govern the selection of the anaphoric referent: Constraint on Metonymic Anaphora, Domain Availability Principle, Domain Combinability Principle, and Domain Precedence Principle. The operation of mappings and principles is described through the analysis of real language examples. The phenomenon of metonymic anaphora is surveyed along with cases of implicative reference, through which these scholars account for otherwise problematic cases of anaphoric reference. Ruiz de Mendoza’s is a highly comprehensive approach as far as metonymic anaphora is concerned, but further research should be carried out regarding its relationship with implicative reference.Partiendo de los postulados sobre anáfora metonímica de Ruiz de Mendoza y sus colaboradores (Ruiz de Mendoza 1997, 1999; Ruiz de Mendoza; Otal 2002; Ruiz de Mendoza; Díez 2004), el presente artículo analiza algunos de los casos más significativos de referencia anafórica a antecedentes metonímicos en cuatro best sellers. La selección del antecedente se muestra problemática en algunos casos; sin embargo, estas dificultades se ven reducidas considerablemente con la distinción entre metonimias simples y dobles, así como varias constricciones y principios que gobiernan la selección del referente anafórico: Constricción de Anáfora Metonímica, Principio de Disponibilidad de Dominios, Principio de Combinabilidad de Dominios y Principio de Precedencia de Dominios. La operabilidad de estos mapeos y principios se describe detalladamente en este artículo mediante una selección de ejemplos reales. El fenómeno de anáfora metonímica se analiza en conjunción con casos de referencia implicativa mediante los que estos académicos dan cuenta de casos de referencia anafórica que podrían llegar a ser problemáticos. El enfoque de Ruiz de Mendoza demuestra ser exhaustivo y completo en lo que respecta a la anáfora metonímica, aunque parece necesario llevar a cabo más estudios versados en su relación con casos de referencia implicativa

Message-Passing Protocols for Real-World Parsing -- An Object-Oriented Model and its Preliminary Evaluation

We argue for a performance-based design of natural language grammars and their associated parsers in order to meet the constraints imposed by real-world NLP. Our approach incorporates declarative and procedural knowledge about language and language use within an object-oriented specification framework. We discuss several message-passing protocols for parsing and provide reasons for sacrificing completeness of the parse in favor of efficiency based on a preliminary empirical evaluation.Comment: 12 pages, uses epsfig.st

Discourse, Semantics and Metonymy

In current research on discourse analysis and on metonymy there is an idea that is missing: the study of the discourse potential of metonymic activity. The reasons for this are to be found, in all likelihood, on the one hand, the still dominant idea that text coherence (also called text cohesion at the lexical level) does take place propositionally and on the other hand, on the also prevalent idea (tightly complementary to the first one) that metonymy is simply a local cognitive phenomenon, of a mainly referential nature. However, the evidence suggests, as will be extensively demonstrated in this paper, that metonymy is pervasive in much of our cognitive and discourse activities. Thus, metonymy may underlie the generation of conversational implicatures and the interpretation of indirect speech acts. It is through the cognitive approach and the application of frame semantics that we are in the position to offer a more plausible explanation of the discourse coherence phenomenon. After introducing the various approaches to semantics and justifying the convenience of a maximalist approach, I discuss the role of metaphor and above all the role of metonymy in discourse, as a pervading source of inferencing and coherenceEn la investigación actual sobre discurso y metonimia todavía no existe una investigación importante sobre el potencial discursivo de la metonimia. Las principales razones hay que buscarlas en la perspectiva proposicional predominante en que se explica el fenómeno de la coherencia y por otro lado el papel de la metonimia, que se encuentra relegado a un fenómeno cognitivo simplemente local. Estas dos perspectivas se complementan y refuerzan para pesentarnos un panorama incompleto. Sin embargo la evidencia nos demuestra que la metonimia tiene un papel predominante en la generación de implicaturas conversacionales y en la interpretación de actos de habla indirectos. La lingüística cognitiva, la semántica de marcos, nos ofrecen los instrumentos para una explicación más plausible de la relación entre discurso y metonimia. Una vez justificada la conveniencia de elegir un enfoque maximalista en semántica, se discuten el papel de la metáfora y más en profundidad el papel de la metonimia en el discurso, como fenómenos que impregnan las actividades de inferencia y coherencia discursivas

Metonymic modelling of discourse, discourse modelling of metonymy: the case of the place-name based metonymies

This paper deals with the way metonymy contributes to the construction and understanding of social objects and of discourses related to them. The analysis is based on an empirical study of place-name based metonymies on the grounds of discourse analysis and cognitive linguistics. It is shown that metonymy lays out referential nets characterized by the variability of anaphora and predicate agreement, as well as by the agglomeration of coreferential units. These nets outline discourse sites and provide both a relevant support for text interpretation and a flexible ground for text progression.El presente artículo trata de cómo la metonimia contribuye a la construcción y la comprensión de objetos sociales y los discursos relacionados con ellos. El análisis se basa en un estudio empírico de metonimias basadas en topónimos, desde una perspectiva de Análisis del Discurso y Lingüística Cognitiva. Se demuestra que la metonimia despliega redes referenciales caracterizadas por la variabilidad de la concordancia entre anáfora y predicado, así como por la aglomeración de unidades correferenciales. Dichas redes perfilan los lugares del discurso y proporcionan tanto el fundamento para la interpretación del texto como una base flexible para la progresión textual

Metonymy and Anaphoric Reference: Anaphoric Reference to a Metonymic Antecedent in Dude, Where’s My Country, Stupid White Men, The Da Vinci Code and Deception Point

Departing from the postulates of Ruiz de Mendoza and his collaborators on metonymic anaphora (Ruiz de Mendoza 1997, 1999; Ruiz de Mendoza; Otal 2002; Ruiz de Mendoza; Díez 2004), this paper analyzes some of the most outstanding cases of anaphoric reference to a metonymic antecedent in four best sellers. Antecedent selection turns up problematic in certain cases. These difficulties are considerably reduced, however, by means of the distinction between simple and double metonymies, and some constraints and principles that govern the selection of the anaphoric referent: Constraint on Metonymic Anaphora, Domain Availability Principle, Domain Combinability Principle, and Domain Precedence Principle. The operation of mappings and principles is described through the analysis of real language examples. The phenomenon of metonymic anaphora is surveyed along with cases of implicative reference, through which these scholars account for otherwise problematic cases of anaphoric reference. Ruiz de Mendoza’s is a highly comprehensive approach as far as metonymic anaphora is concerned, but further research should be carried out regarding its relationship with implicative reference

Text Metaphtonymy: The interplay of metonymy and metaphor in discourse

This article starts by looking at the various ways metonymic and metaphoric thinking, as independent phenomena, organize text at discourse level. The literature on Metaphor in Discourse is classified under three broad categories, 'metaphor clusters', 'metaphor chains' and 'extended metaphor'; while the less extensive body of research on Metonymy in Discourse is analyzed into parallel categories, 'metonymy clusters', 'metonymy chains' and 'extended metonymy'. The article goes on to look at the ways in which Metonymy in Discourse and Metaphor in Discourse phenomena combine in making meaning at text level. The interplay of metonymy and metaphor in discourse referred to here as Text Metaphtonymy, is explored under headings adapted from Goossens (1990), namely, 'metaphor within metonymy' and 'metonymy within metaphor'. The ways in which metonymy and metaphor combine at discourse level are shown to be varied and intricate. This has implications for applied linguists working with text. The direction further work in this area might take is indicated

Discourse, Semantics and Metonymy

In current research on discourse analysis and on metonymy there is an idea that is missing: the study of the discourse potential of metonymic activity. The reasons for this are to be found, in all likelihood, on the one hand, the still dominant idea that text coherence (also called text cohesion at the lexical level) does take place propositionally and on the other hand, on the also prevalent idea (tightly complementary to the first one) that metonymy is simply a local cognitive phenomenon, of a mainly referential nature. However, the evidence suggests, as will be extensively demonstrated in this paper, that metonymy is pervasive in much of our cognitive and discourse activities. Thus, metonymy may underlie the generation of conversational implicatures and the interpretation of indirect speech acts. It is through the cognitive approach and the application of frame semantics that we are in the position to offer a more plausible explanation of the discourse coherence phenomenon. After introducing the various approaches to semantics and justifying the convenience of a maximalist approach, I discuss the role of metaphor and above all the role of metonymy in discourse, as a pervading source of inferencing and coherence

Metonymic Modelling of Discourse, Discourse Modelling of Metonymy. The Case of the Place-Name Based Metonymies

This paper deals with the way metonymy contributes to the construction and understanding of social objects and of discourses related to them. The analysis is based on an empirical study of place-name based metonymies on the grounds of discourse analysis and cognitive linguistics. It is shown that metonymy lays out referential nets characterized by the variability of anaphora and predicate agreement, as well as by the agglomeration of coreferential units. These nets outline discourse sites and provide both a relevant support for text interpretation and a flexible ground for text progression