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16 Switch-reference and event cohesion

  • Andrew McKenzie
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Abstract

This chapter considers some of the ways that grammars encode how speakers build discourse structures larger than sentences, focusing on switch-reference systems. Canonically these indicate that the clauses share subjects, but findings in many North American languages show that switch-reference indicates various kinds of event cohesion as well. The chapter also discusses different clause types that switch-reference can be found with and how those types affect the kinds of cohesion available. Finally, it compares switch-reference to a number of phenomena that have been linked to it over the years.

Abstract

This chapter considers some of the ways that grammars encode how speakers build discourse structures larger than sentences, focusing on switch-reference systems. Canonically these indicate that the clauses share subjects, but findings in many North American languages show that switch-reference indicates various kinds of event cohesion as well. The chapter also discusses different clause types that switch-reference can be found with and how those types affect the kinds of cohesion available. Finally, it compares switch-reference to a number of phenomena that have been linked to it over the years.

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