13.3 Temporal reference and aspect in DRT
2 min read•july 19, 2024
(DRT) tackles in language by using and . It captures events, states, and their relationships through time, helping to analyze how we talk about when things happen.
DRT breaks down sentences into structures that show temporal info and connections. It handles tense, aspect, and , making sense of complex time-related language. This approach helps unpack tricky temporal phenomena in everyday speech.
Discourse Representation Theory (DRT) and Temporal Reference
Temporal representation in DRT
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- DRT employs discourse referents to symbolize events (bounded occurrences like "John ate dinner") and states (ongoing situations like "Mary is happy")
- Encodes using temporal variables (t, t1, t2) denoting specific time points or intervals and (<, >, =) expressing ordering and overlap between variables
- Captures aspectual properties through the relationship between (ET) and (RT)
- signifies the event is contained within the reference time (ET ⊆ RT)
- signifies the reference time is contained within the event (RT ⊆ ET)
Discourse analysis with DRT
- Represents temporal structure of discourse using a series of (DRSs), each capturing temporal information and relations introduced by a sentence or clause
- Establishes temporal relations between DRSs by sharing temporal variables and applying
- Represents tense by relating event time (ET) to (ST) or contextually determined reference time (RT)
- : ET < ST or ET < RT (event precedes speech or reference time)
- : ET = ST or ET = RT (event coincides with speech or reference time)
- : ST < ET or RT < ET (speech or reference time precedes event)
- Represents aspect through the relationship between event time (ET) and reference time (RT) as described earlier
Temporal anaphora resolution
- Resolves temporal anaphora (expressions like "then" or "at that time" referring to previously mentioned times or events) by identifying the antecedent and establishing a temporal relation
- Establishes temporal relations between events by sharing temporal variables (indicating events occur simultaneously) and applying temporal constraints (e1 < e2 specifies ordering)
- Uses principles of (antecedent must be accessible from current or superordinate DRS) and specificity (chooses most specific antecedent if multiple are accessible) to determine appropriate temporal antecedent
Challenges of complex temporal phenomena
- Progressive aspect challenges DRT as it represents ongoing events without specifying completion, requiring additional temporal variables and constraints (representing the event as a non-completed part of a larger event)
- Narrative progression involves temporal ordering of events, often with implied relations not explicitly stated, requiring DRT to infer appropriate relations based on world knowledge and pragmatic principles
- Complex phenomena like habituals (repeated events), (repeated subevents), and generics (general statements) may require extensions to basic DRT, such as quantification over events/times or incorporation of aspectual operators
Key Terms to Review (19)
Accessibility: Accessibility in linguistics refers to how easily certain entities in discourse can be referred to or retrieved by speakers and listeners. This concept plays a crucial role in understanding how participants in a conversation maintain coherence, manage focus, and track the flow of information through the use of expressions that refer back to previously mentioned elements.
Discourse referents: Discourse referents are abstract entities introduced in a conversation that represent individuals, objects, or events discussed in the discourse. They allow for a clear tracking of references across sentences, facilitating coherence and helping listeners understand who or what is being talked about. This concept plays a crucial role in organizing information and managing focus within conversations.
Discourse Representation Structures: Discourse Representation Structures (DRS) are formal representations used to model the meaning of sentences in context, particularly how different entities and events are related within a discourse. They provide a way to capture information about reference, quantification, and anaphoric relationships, enabling a clearer understanding of how meaning is constructed across multiple sentences. DRS is essential for analyzing features like anaphora resolution and temporal reference, illustrating how discourse unfolds over time and how different pieces of information connect.
Discourse Representation Theory: Discourse Representation Theory (DRT) is a framework used to represent the meaning of sentences in context, particularly focusing on how discourse elements are structured and how references are resolved. It connects various aspects of language, including types of anaphora, dynamic semantics, and the representation of temporal information, which helps us understand how meaning is constructed during communication.
Event time: Event time refers to the actual temporal interval during which an event takes place, distinguishing it from the grammatical structure used to express that event. It plays a crucial role in understanding how temporal reference and aspect are represented, particularly in dynamic contexts where the timing of events is essential for meaning.
Future tense: Future tense is a grammatical construction used to describe actions or events that will occur at a later time. This form allows speakers to express predictions, intentions, and scheduled events, thereby providing a way to reference time beyond the present and past. Understanding future tense is essential for exploring how temporal reference and aspect interact in language.
Imperfective aspect: The imperfective aspect is a grammatical feature that describes an action or event as ongoing, habitual, or incomplete. It allows for a focus on the internal structure of an event rather than its completion, highlighting processes or states that occur over time. This aspect can provide insights into the timing and nature of actions, making it crucial for understanding how events are represented and interpreted in different contexts.
Iteratives: Iteratives are expressions that denote events or actions that occur repeatedly over time. They are crucial in understanding how temporal reference and aspect interact, as they indicate the ongoing or habitual nature of actions within discourse representation theory. The use of iteratives helps to clarify the frequency and duration of events, allowing for a deeper analysis of how we comprehend time and actions in language.
Past tense: Past tense is a grammatical category that expresses actions or states that occurred before the present time. It is essential in conveying temporal reference, allowing speakers to situate events in time, often in relation to other events or contexts.
Perfective aspect: The perfective aspect is a grammatical category that expresses an event as a whole, often emphasizing its completion and viewing it from a point of view outside the temporal flow. It contrasts with the imperfective aspect, which focuses on the internal structure of an event, like its progression or repetition. This distinction plays a crucial role in understanding how events are represented in language, impacting both event semantics and the ways temporal reference is framed in discourse.
Present tense: Present tense is a grammatical term that indicates actions or states occurring at the current moment or regularly. This tense often reflects temporal reference, showing how an event is situated in time and its aspectual characteristics, like whether it's a habitual action or ongoing process.
Reference time: Reference time is the temporal anchor point in discourse that helps to situate events or states being described in relation to when they occur. It plays a crucial role in understanding the sequence and relationship of events within a narrative, particularly in the framework of discourse representation theory (DRT). By establishing a clear reference point, speakers can effectively convey timelines and the aspectual characteristics of actions.
Speech time: Speech time refers to the specific moment when a speaker produces a linguistic utterance, serving as a point of reference for the temporal interpretation of the information conveyed. This concept is crucial in understanding how language conveys temporal relationships between events and how listeners interpret those relationships based on when they are expressed.
Temporal anaphora: Temporal anaphora is the linguistic phenomenon where a pronoun or other referring expression is used to refer back to a previously mentioned time or event in discourse. This mechanism helps to establish temporal coherence in narratives, allowing speakers and listeners to track the timing of events more effectively. By connecting phrases and clauses through temporal reference, it enhances our understanding of sequences and relationships between actions over time.
Temporal constraints: Temporal constraints refer to the limitations imposed on the interpretation of events and actions concerning time within a discourse. They play a crucial role in determining how different temporal expressions relate to each other, influencing the way events are understood in sequence, duration, or simultaneity. Understanding these constraints helps in analyzing how meaning is constructed around time, particularly in contexts involving narrative structure and temporal relationships between propositions.
Temporal information: Temporal information refers to data that provides context about when events occur, including specific time frames, durations, and the relationships between different events in time. This concept plays a crucial role in understanding how language conveys timing, order, and aspect of actions or states.
Temporal reference: Temporal reference is the linguistic concept that indicates the time at which an event occurs or is situated, helping to locate actions or states within a temporal framework. It connects language to time by allowing speakers to express when something happens, whether in the past, present, or future, and plays a key role in how we understand and structure information about events.
Temporal relations: Temporal relations refer to the ways in which time is expressed and understood in language, including the relationships between events, their durations, and the order in which they occur. These relations are crucial for conveying when something happens, its duration, and how events relate to one another in a narrative context. Understanding temporal relations helps us grasp the timeline of events and the flow of information within discourse representation structures.
Temporal variables: Temporal variables are elements in a discourse representation structure that denote specific points or intervals of time. They help to anchor events and states to a timeline, providing clarity about when something happens or is true. Understanding these variables is crucial for interpreting the temporal aspects of language and how they influence meaning.