Implicit Causality of Verbs on Anaphora Processing

Authors

  • Xiaomeng Tian

    Teachers College, Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing 100083, China
  • Lingyu Fu

    School of Law and humanities, China University of Mining and Technology, Beijing 100083, China
  • Yang Zhao

    School of Chinese as a Second Language, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v7i8.9705
Received: 25 April 2025 | Revised: 11 June 2025 | Accepted: 23 June 2025 | Published Online: 26 August 2025

Abstract

This paper provides a comprehensive review of research on the Implicit Causality (IC) of verbs and its role in anaphora resolution. IC refers to the inherent semantic bias in interpersonal verbs that guides readers or listeners in assigning causal responsibility, thereby influencing the interpretation of pronouns. Like in the sentence "David betrayed John because he…" , the pronoun "he" is more likely to be interpreted as referring to David, whereas in "David criticized John because  he…" , "he" is more often understood as referring to John. This phenomenon has been observed in multiple languages and populations. The review focuses on several key areas: linguistic and non-linguistic factors affecting IC bias; the activation and persistence hypotheses of IC; research methodologies; the performance of different subject types in IC processing; and how large language models process IC information. Key findings and current challenges are discussed, including the need to refine the classification of IC verbs, to clarify the weight of multiple influencing factors, and to explore cross-linguistic and cross-population differences in IC processing. This study offers theoretical insights and practical implications for second language education, clinical language assessment, and AI-based natural language understanding.

Keywords:

Implicit Causality; Anaphora Resolution; Verbs; Influencing Factors; Hypotheses; Methodology

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How to Cite

Tian, X., Fu, L., & Zhao, Y. (2025). Implicit Causality of Verbs on Anaphora Processing. Forum for Linguistic Studies, 7(8), 1190–1211. https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v7i8.9705

Issue

Vol. 7 , Iss. 8 (August 2025)

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Review

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Copyright © 2025 Xiaomeng Tian, Lingyu Fu, Yang Zhao

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This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License.