N ED 071 485 FL 003 588 AUTHOR Grimes, Joseph E. TITLE The Thread of Discour4., 'INSTITUTION Cornell Univ., Ithaca,N.I. Dept.of Modern Languages and Linguistics. SPONS AGENCY National Science Washington, D.C. REPORT NO NSF-GS-3180; NSF-TR-1 PUB DATE 72 NOTE' 374p. EARS PRICE MY-80.65 HC- $13.16 DESCRIPTORS *Communication (Thought Transfer} ; Connected Discourse; Deep Structure;i*Discourse Analysis; Generative Grammar; *Infbrmation Processing; Language Patterns; *Language Research;' Linguistics; *Linguistic Theory; Literary Criticism; Paragraphs; Rhetoric; Semantics; Speech; Surface Structure; Transformations (Language); Verbal Communication ABSTRACT .This report contains an extensive discussion ofan approach to the study of discourtkeInitial remarks concern arguments for studying discourse and approaches for discourse study that have been used; the author then discusses the relationship of discourse analysis and generative semantics. Langaage is consideredon two issues: the decisions that a speaker can make regarding what and what '3 not to say, and the mechanisms and patterns that are available to him for implementing the resu ,lts of those decisions ina way that communicates with another person. The remainder of the report discusses relevant issues in this approach to the study of discourse. (M) , N A* dr / ir s AIL / FILMED FROM BEST AVAILABLE COPY k .11 4, t le s S THE THREAD OF DISCOURSE (Technical Report No. 1, National Science Foundation Grant GS-3180) . Al. I Joseph E. Grimes MO Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics Cornell University Ithaca, New York 14850 . r-> U.S DEPARTMENT Of HtiLTH. EDUCATION &WELFARE OFFICE Of EDUCATION t() 0 THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEENREPRODUCE1EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FR* THE i Ilk POINTS Of VIEW OR OPINIONS 4. PERSON OR OR6ANIZATION ORI6INATIN6 IT. 0 STAIED DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT OFFICIAL OFFICE Of EDUCATION . POSITION OR POLICY al ,.. WWII a .za "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS COPYRIGHTED MATIFIA1 HAS BEEN GRANTED orC-t,,-Yvi\k 1cix4g.rsc't TO ERIC ANO46ANIZATIONS OPEVATING UNDER AkiltiMENTS WITH THE U.S. OFFICE OF EDUCATION FURTHER.RfPRODIKTION OUTSIDE . Ttif ERIC SYSTElt REOUIRES PERMISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT OWNER Copyright 1972, Cornellniversity Printed in U.S.X.\\ Preface The project for Cross Language Study of Discourse Structures was funded in August of 1970 for a two year period by National Science Foundation grant GS-3180 to Cornell University. Under thatgrant I traveled to three field loca- tions and held workshops in which thirty-one languages were represented. The tangible results of those workshops were thirty papers submitted for publication on the topic of discourse, seventeen papers on other areas of linguistics that needed to be cleared up so that discourse studies could progress, and this report. The most interesting result vissthe discovery of the overlay patta'n of text organization described in Chapter Nineteen. Thurman's work on linkage and chaining- (Chapter Twenty-one),,Litteral's on time indexing (Chapter Three), the distinction between rhetorical and lexial relations (Chapter Fourteen), and Thurman'sIsuggestions for decomposing texts to display their discourse properties (Chapter Six) all have broad significance. This report is the part that could be gotten ready in the time available of a -fuller discussion gf discourse ----inlanguage. I-have-Includid more than half of what I originally planned, and have sketched out the rest. Collaborators in the workshops include all the authors of papers listed at the end of the preface. Most of them are fiel'd investigators of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, which is affiliated with the University of Oklahoma. The Institute provided the physical facilities for each workshop and contributed administrative support. Ivan Lowe in Brazil and Nellie Hidalgo in the Philippines leCtured, Harland Kerr, Bruce Hooley, Richard Wkins, Karl Franklin, and Lee Ballard visited, and Martin Krusi, Horst Stutte, and William Hall took advantage of the workshop environment to begin papers on Chiquitano of Bolivia, Gaveao of Brazil, nd Siocon Subanon of the Philippines respectively. Outside the workshops I conferred with profit with Austin Hale in Nepal and Paul Freyberg in New Guinea. Robert Litteral, 4 a graduate student from the University of Pennsylvania, acted as my assistant in the Philippines. This project has led to two further developments. The first is an explorAtion, with Ivan Lowe and Thomas Crowell, of formalisms that miOrt be more useful than the ones current in linguistics. The econd, for which continuing support has been,requested from the National Science Foundation, involves i 4 ii Preface looking into the tie betweenmorphological categories and discourse structure. -Categories like tense and,definiteness are frequently labeled and letgo; but there is evidence that they can be understoodbetter by relating them to where - they are -used in discourse. J6seph E. Grimes Principal Investigator July 1, 1972 So Following is a.list.ofpapers produced in the workshops. Where the paper hasappeared or is in theprocess of publication, thejournal is given. Bra it Na y E. Butler, Verb derivation inTerena mas H. Crowell, Cohesion in Bororodiscourse, Linguistics se Dobson and Helga Weiss, Kayabiclause structure er H. K. Kingston, Mamaindesyllables a J. Kroeker. Morphaphonemdc.s_-of-4-fflie-iecuara, nt. TOgiCal Linguistics14:1.19-22 (1972) *Menno H. ,' eker, Thematic linkage inNambiquara narrative, Appe ix A of this volume Ruth McLeod, Parraph, aspect, and participantin Xavante, Linguistics. Wilbur K. Pickering, Apurina,M. Cohen, ed. Les LanguesDans le Monde Orland Rowan, Some featuresof Paressi discoursestruc bre, Anthropological LinNistics 14:4.131-146 (197 ) Mickey Stout and RuthThomson,NOyapo narrative,International Journal .of Aulerican-LinNistics37:4.250 -256 (1971) James Wheatley, Pronouns and nomin4 elements inBacairi ' _discourse, Linguistics New Guinea Janice Allen, Halia_sentences, Pacific Ling tics Jerry Allen, Tense-aspect in Halia narratives, OceanicLinguistics John Austing, Semanticrelationships in Omie 'June Austing, Omie discourse, International Jourhalof American Linguistics Donald Davis, Wantoatparagraph structure, Linguistics Jose'ph E. Grimes, Outlines and overlays,Language -----, Kinds of information in discourse,Kivung 4:2.64-73 (1971) Roberta Huisrre\, Angaatahanarrative discourse, Linguistic% Preface --/ Ronald Huisman, Angaataha verb morphology, Linguistics NHelen Lawrence, Location in Oksapmin, Anthropological Linguistics Marshall Lawrence, Oksapmin sentence structure, Pacific Linguistics Ronald Lewis, Sanio-Hiowe paragraph structure, Pacific Linguistics Sandra Lewis, Sanio-Hiowe verb phrases, Pacific Linguistics: Robert Litteral, Rhetorical predicates and time topology'" in Anggor, Foundations of Language Shirley Litteral, Orientation shifts in Anggor, Pacific Linguistics David Strange, Indicative and subjunctive in Upper Asaro, LingUistics Robert Thurman,'Chuave medial verbs Philippines Seymour Ashley, A case classification of Tausug verbs, Anthropological Linguistics Marjorie Draper, Underlying case structure in Northern Kankanayt, Asian Studies Carl DuBois, Connectives in Sarangani Manobo discourse, Linguistics Richard Gieser, Kalinga sequential discourse, Philippine JOurnarfLifiguiStics Ruth Gieser and Joseph E. Grimes, Natural groupings in Ka inga disease terms, Asian Studies Joseph E. Grimes, Participant orientation, Philippine Journal of Linguistics Donna Hettick, Verb stem classes in Northern Kankanay, Oceanic LingOstics Lou Hohulin,,Complexpiedicatesin Keleyi-Kallahan, Pacific LinguisticS Richard Uohulin, Cohesive organization in Keleyi' Kallahan, Pacific Linguistics Jetty HoOker, Cohesion,in Ivatan, Asian Studies Virginia Larson; Pronominal reference in the Ivatan narrative, . Philippine Journal of Linguistics Helen Miller, Thematization in'Mamanvta, Linguistics Jeanne'Mill,er, Semantic structure of Mamanwa verbs, Linguistics Mary Rhea, ,Remarks on prefocus in'Sarangani Bilaan, Philippine Journal of Linguistics Louise Sawyer,' Aspect in Amganad Ifugao,\ATithropological Linguistics Anne West, The semantics of focus in Amganad Ifugao, Linguistic Hazel Wrigglesworth, Ilianen Manobo narrative, discourse I also wrote two other papers unrel*ted to discourse during the workshops: A Review of CorAius; Exercises in computational linguistics, Language 47:4.975-978 (1971) Huicholi M. Cohen, ed. Les Langues Dans le Monde TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 1. Why discourse study? 1 '. 2. Discourse so far , 15 I 3. Events and participants in discourse 41 J 4. Non-events in discourse 63 I 5. The speaker and hearer'in discourse 89 6. Kinds of information in discourse 103 7. Constituency in discourse '125. 8. Semantic role structure 1 7 9. Semantic derivation 16 10. Other relationships among predicates 183 11. The arguments of propositions 195 12, Referential indices \ 217 , 13. The grammar of semantic productions 22$5 14. ghetoricai structure 251 \ 5. Modality 277 Discourse semantics and the surface hierarchy 278 ln Linear organization 279 18. Participant orientation 281 r 19. hesion 295 20. ntification 326 21. ing 327 7-22: 314 ' 23. Varia lity 345 24. Postse ntic shaping 346 25. Lineari tion . 347 26. Output \ 348 27. Methods o research 349 28. Looking ah d 350 Appendix A 351 A The threadlof discourse Grimes CHAPTER,ONE 146Y DISCOURSE STUDY? iLinguistics.started small, concentrating on sounds and wopids before phrases and sentences. There is always lixcit4lentin new ideas about those areas, and the subject ,matteh has always