This paper discusses an approach of modelling design rational expressed in natural language sentences into a discourse model. The discourse model is used to classify captured rationale into discourse categories by taking into account semantic and pragmatic relationships between two design elements. It is expected that accessibility and reusability of captured rationale is improved since retriev...

It has been argued that the use of inverse voice in languages with pragmatic inversion depends on the discourse status of the referents: this voice occurs when the patient outranks the agent in topicality. In our article, we present empirical evidence from Teribe, a Chibchan language of Panama and Costa Rica and we examine the interaction between inverse voice and information structure. We repo...

In this paper we explore how compositional semantics, discourse structure, and the cogni-tive states of participants all contribute to pragmatic constraints on answers to questions in dialogue. We synthesise formal semantic theories on questions and answers with techniques for discourse interpretation familiar from computational linguistics, and show how this provides richer constraints on resp...

This article analyses Locating Adverbials (LAs) such as un peu plus tard, ce matin, deux kilomètres plus loin (‘a little later’, ‘this morning’, ‘two kilometers further’) when they are dislocated to the left of the sentence (IP Adjuncts cases). Although not discourse connectives, in such a position, they seem to play an important part in structuring discourse. It is this contribution of LAs to ...

We examine the effect of contextual and acoustic cues in the disambiguation of three discourse-pragmatic functions of the word okay. Results of a perception study show that contextual cues are stronger predictors of discourse function than acoustic cues. However, acoustic features capturing the pitch excursion at the right edge of okay feature prominently in disambiguation, whether other contex...

Existing studies on comedies in Nigeria have focused mainly stand-up comedy, with little attention devoted to situation comedies. This study, therefore, investigates the pragmatic acts that are used reflect inherent societal issues revealed under guise of humour a Nigerian sitcom, Jenifa’s Diary. Drawing excerpts purposively sampled from first three seasons sitcom and subjecting them analytical...