Resolving Homophonous Ambiguity in Mandarin Adverbs: Contextual Constraints and Bidirectional Optimization
學年 114
學期 1
出版（發表）日期 2025-10-01
作品名稱 Resolving Homophonous Ambiguity in Mandarin Adverbs: Contextual Constraints and Bidirectional Optimization
作品名稱（其他語言）
著者 Yu-Ching Tseng
單位
出版者
著錄名稱、卷期、頁數 Lingua 325, 104007
摘要 This study examines homophonous ambiguity in Mandarin adverbs, particularly their ability to function as speaker-oriented, subject-oriented, and manner modifiers. The ambiguity arises when an adverb can be interpreted in multiple ways within the same sentence. In neutral contexts, these interpretations can coexist without contradiction; however, when contextual information highlights conflicts between them, sentences often become semantically incoherent. By analyzing sentence acceptability ratings and interpretation consistency provided by native Mandarin speakers, the data reveal that conflicting contextual cues lead to interpretive conflict and reduced comprehensibility. The study applies Bidirectional Optimality Theory (BiOT) to model how syntactic and semantic constraints interact to produce and interpret ambiguous adverbial structures. BiOT explains how conflicting interpretations compete and how listeners resolve ambiguity by filtering out incoherent readings. The findings suggest that Mandarin speakers rely on lexico-pragmatic association, contextual expansion, and pragmatic inference to navigate ambiguity, and that speaker-oriented adverbs play a crucial role in structuring discourse. This study contributes to linguistic theory by offering a formalized approach to Mandarin adverbial modification and ambiguity resolution, highlighting the role of context and discourse in meaning selection.
關鍵字
語言 en
ISSN 1872-6135; 0024-3841
期刊性質 國外
收錄於 A&HCI
產學合作
通訊作者
審稿制度 否
國別 NLD
公開徵稿
出版型式 ,電子版,紙本
相關連結

機構典藏連結 ( http://tkuir.lib.tku.edu.tw:8080/dspace/handle/987654321/129379 )