Systematically Relate the Labovian Model to Discourse-Relation Frameworks in Japanese

Characterize the relationship between the Labovian model of narrative (including its micro-level clause types and six macro-structural functions) and discourse-relation frameworks such as Rhetorical Structure Theory (RST), Segmented Discourse Representation Theory (SDRT), and the Penn Discourse Treebank (PDTB) for Japanese by establishing a systematic mapping between Labovian categories and discourse relations.

Background

The paper notes parallels between the Labovian model and discourse-relation frameworks, highlighting, for example, the correspondence between the Labovian narrative clause and SDRT’s Narration relation. Despite the existence of Japanese discourse-relation corpora, the authors state that a systematic investigation of how Labovian categories align with discourse relations has not yet been conducted.

A systematic mapping would clarify theoretical correspondences and enable cross-framework interoperability for Japanese narrative analysis, potentially improving annotation consistency and facilitating tool development.