Centering in Greek
Eleni Miltsakaki · Aristotle University of Thessaloniki · 2017
This paper presents a corpus-based analysis on the discourse functions of weak and strong forms of referring in Greek. We focus on null subjects as well as overt weak and strong pronominal forms. The distribution of the pronomina1 paradigms in a Greek corpus reveals multiple discourse functions. Specifically, null pronouns signify continuation οn the same topic or return to the main/earlier topic after an interruption or other embedded structure has occurred. Strong pronominals prompt reference to a non-salient entity and alert to an upcoming switch, sometimes abrupt, to a new topic. Α second function of strong pronouns is to signify a contrastive relationship of an entity to some other salient entity or set of entities, previous evoked in the discourse. We ana1yze the data and model the discourse constraints on their distribution with respect to the Centering Model of attention in discourse (Grosz, Joshi, & Weinstein, 1995).