Computing Perspective in Text - Computational Linguistics and Talking Robots - page 228

As expected, the examples 3 and 4 allow an indexical as well as a coreferen-
tial interpretation:

11.6.4 A DVERBIAL MODIFIER SENTENCE :P RONOUN IN LOWER CLAUSE

3. L' H : When she returned Mary kissed John.
4. HL': Mary kissed John when she returned.
(iii)

(i) semantic relations graph (SRG) numbered arcs graph (NAG)

kiss

a. kiss b. kiss

5 1

8 4

6 1 4

7 2 5 8 3

Mary return John

Mary return John Mary return John

2 3 6 7

(Mary)/ça

(Mary)/ça (Mary)/ça

(ii) signature

V

(iv) surface realization

a. 1 2 3 4−5 6

John 78

(N) V N

When she returned Mary kissed

b. 1 2 3 4−5 6 7 8

.

N

Mary kissed John when she returned

In summary, a coreferential interpretation in subject clause, object clause,
adnominal modifier clause, and adverbial modifier clause constructions is pos-
sible under the following conditions: (i) the pronoun follows the potentially
coreferential noun, as in LH' and HL' , or (ii) the pronoun is in the lower clause,
as in L' H . Conversely, a coreferential interpretation is excluded if the pronoun
does not follow the potential coreferential noun and is not in the lower clause,
as in H'L .
The facts are clear, but what is the explanation? Based on the inference
11.3.6, the DBS analysis treats coreferential third person pronouns as address
values, e.g., (Mary) . The traversal and activation of an address value is suc-
cessful only if the item to be addressed is available, i.e., has already been
activated by a prior traversal step. 10
To show that a coreferential noun is available to be pointed at by the ad-
dress value in LH' constructions, but not in H'L constructions, we must look

10 Due to the strictly time-linear derivation order of LA-grammar, a delayed realization of an address
value is not allowed.