2005, ‘Why be silent? Some functions of ellipsis in natural language
Petra Hendriks, Jennifer K. Spenader, J. Spenader, P Hendriks · 2005
Although ellipsis is a highly pervasive phenomenon in natural language, its function has largely remained a mystery. While the use of ellipsis can make a sentence more difficult to understand, sometimes the reverse is true. Using ellipsis sometimes is the best way, or even the only way, to express a given meaning. Ellipsis can restrict possible readings, express otherwise ineffable meanings, clarify discourse structure, and establish rapport between speaker and hearer. All these functions motivate a closer look at the possibilities of integrating a treatment of ellipsis in natural language applications. 1