Aspects of Narrative Discourse Process and Their Integration by Computer
Simulation
Takashi Ogata ([email protected])
Department of Medicine and Engineering
University of Yamanashi, Takeda Kofu 4-3-11 Japan
Satoki Umehara ([email protected])
Graduate School of Engineering
University of Yamanashi, Takeda Kofu 4-3-11 Japan
Sayaka Yamakage ([email protected])
AXIS Software Co.,Ltd.
Koji Ueda ([email protected])
Graduate School of Engineering
University of Yamanashi, Takeda Kofu 4-3-11 Japan
Yoshinori Hosaka ([email protected])
Graduate School of Engineering
University of Yamanashi, Takeda Kofu 4-3-11 Japan
Abstract
the discourse theory. In this paper, we show
computational expansion and precision in some aspects,
mainly perspective and duration, of narrative discourse
theory, and touch briefly the problem of their
integration. First of all, we explain about the framework
of Genette’s theory.
Narrative discourse is an aspect how to narrate a story.
Various strategies and techniques for narrating are
proposed by mainly narrative discourse theory as one of
literary theories. But in the framework of narrative
discourse theory itself, it is difficult to precisely analyze
discourse techniques and organized relationships among
them because of methodological limitation. We adopt
Genette’s discourse theory as a starting point, and by
introducing computational methodology into the literary
theory, we do the expansion and precision of the
discourse theory. In this paper, we show a trial of
computational expansion and precision in some aspects,
mainly perspective and duration, of narrative discourse
theory, and touch briefly the problem of their integration.
Narrative Discourse Theory and its
Computational Expansion
Genette’s discourse theory (1972) is comp osed of
following three aspects ; time or tense, mood and voice.
We explain them based on Prince’s summary (1987).
Time or tense means the set of temporal relations
(speed, order, distance, etc.) between story (narrative
contents) and discourse or narrated and narrating. Order
is one of its subcategories and shows the order in which
events occur and the order in which they are recounted.
Duration means the relation between story time
(narrative world’s time) and discourse time (described
time). Last frequency is the category which means the
set of relations between the number of times an event
occurs and the number of times it is described. Mood,
next major category, is the set of modalities, distance
and point of view or focalization regulating narrative
information. Distance, first subcategory of two major
factors in mood, means whether a narrator shows (the
aspect of mimesis) or tells (the aspect of diegesis)
narrative information. Namely, showing is taken to
institute less distance than telling. Perspective or point
of view or focalization is the perceptual position in
terms of which the narrated situations and events are
Introduction
As an aspect of a kind of ontological approach to
narrative generation system introducing the knowledge
of literary area, we have continued the study of
narrative discourse by comp utational modeling and
simulation (Ogata 2002). Narrative discourse is an
aspect how to narrate a story and various strategies and
techniques for narrating are proposed by mainly
narrative discourse theory as one of literary theories.
But in the framework of narrative discourse theory
itself, it is difficult to precisely analyze discourse
techniques and organized relationships among them
because of methodological limitation. We adopt
Genette’s discourse theory (1972) as a starting point,
and by introducing computational methodology into the
literary theory, we do the expansion and precision of
138
rendered. It is divided into three types; zero focalization,
internal focalization and external focalization. Voice,
last major category, treats the temporal and spatial
relations between a narrator’s narrative action and a
narrated text.
Until now, we have developed simulation systems
about time order, duration, distance and perspective. In
following sections, we will show mechanisms of some
attempts, mainly perspective and duration, to discuss a
direction for the integration of literary knowledge
(comparatively macro level knowledge or conceptual
knowledge) and cognitive and computational
techniques (comparatively micro level knowledge or
more concrete knowledge).
In next sections, we first describe examples of time
order and distance.
The
Example
Transformation
of
Time
explicit mechanisms for abstract literary concepts by
defining concretely hypothetical techniques and their
mutual relations.
It seems that there are many possibilities in
computational mechanisms for narrative distance
because literary theories have not shown precisely
concrete techniques. As first step for computational
modeling of distance, we did a simple simulation using
the moving in hierarchy of a story tree, the cutting of
slots in knowledge base, and the generation of
narrator’s events (Yamakage 2003). From this simple
modeling, we thought that distance itself is not the
concept for indicating any concrete techniques, and is
very strategic concept locating at the higher level in a
narrative discourse methodology’s knowledge hierarchy.
Perspective’s Analysis and Simulation
Order
We define perspective as the problem of selection and
removing in a story’s information, and make a simple
mechanism that transforms or edits the conceptual
expression of a given story to different conceptual
expressions based on different types of perspectives .
We think simply that the processing of perspective is
the problem of deciding the range of information inside
a story to be transformed to narrative discourses.
We used Genette’s classification of temporal order in
our system by re-defin ing from the viewpoint of
computational modeling (Mukouyama 2002). We called
the temporal order processing based on Genette
structural discourse techniques of time, and on the other
hand we thought about different kind of techniques. For
example, structural transformation of temporal order is
formally done by the substitution of some events in an
events sequence. But, a reader sometimes can not
understand the existence of order transformation, so in
real narrative texts, techniques which compensate for
the structural discourse techniques are frequently used.
For example, inserting a past event into the current time
by “recall” of a character helps that readers understand
the existence of temporal order. We called this type of
techniques differed from structural discourse techniques
of time operational discourse techniques of time.
We analyzed the operational discourse techniques of
time, mixed with structural knowledge and constructed
as a model on computer to expand and elaborate
original Genette’s theory. This is an example in
computational expansion of literary theory.
The Classification of Perspective
We divide Genette’s classification of perspective into
two categories; first is a group of basic perspectives and
second is a group of applicable ones. The applicable
perspectives can be defined by the combination of basic
perspectives so it is strongly related with strategic
knowledge.
Basic perspectives have three sub types; zero
perspective, internal fixed perspective and external
perspective. Zero perspective is the type of perspective
which can narrate all information in a story. Internal
fixed perspective is the type which narrates narrative
information about a certain character and information
the character perceives. External perspective is the type
of one which narrates only external aspects about
characters.
Applicable perspectives have internal variable
perspectives and internal multiple perspectives which
are two applications of the internal fixed perspective.
Moreover, as another type’s category, alternation means
a temporary transgression to the perspective adopted
consistently, and the alternation has paralipsis and
paralepsis. The internal variable perspective is a type
which narrates a story while changing the character
chosen as the subject of a perspective (focalized
character). Internal multiple perspective is a type which
narrates a same event using different characters’
internal fixed perspectives. The paralipsis is a technique
that does not intentionally (perhaps) narrate the
The Example of Distance
Distance is a concept proposed by Genette based on the
idea of opposing relation between mimesis and diegesis
that was a very important problem in literary area since
Plato. A lthough the consideration about language is
comparatively easy, one about event is very difficult
because we can think the state of completely pure
mimesis. Genette also does not refer to any concrete
techniques for the distance about event. When we have
to consider such vague and abstract problem, we think
that the methodology of computational modeling is
effective because it becomes possible to consider
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(person (name Hanako) (sex female) (external-aspect
expressionless) ///internal-aspect-was-deleted/// (perception
nil))) (object nil) (location (location (name school) (externalaspect white))) (direction nil)))
===<<< perspective : Taro >>>===
--- Output by the perspective of Taro himself --time: 16:00
act: find
actor: (person (name Taro) (sex male) (external-aspect
cheerful-expression) (internal-aspect calm-mood) (perception
(event (time 1600) (act walk) (actor (person (name Hanako)
(sex female) (external-aspect expressionless) (internal-aspect
calm-mood) (perception nil))) (object nil) (location (location
(name school) (external-aspect white))) (direction nil))))
object: (person (name Hanako) (sex female) (external-aspect
expressionless) ///internal-aspect-was-deleted/// (perception
nil))
location: (location (name school) (external-aspect white))
direction: nil
--- Information about Hanako seen by Taro--time: 16:00
act: walk
actor: (person (name Hanako) (sex female) (external-aspect
expressionless) ///internal-aspect-was-deleted/// (perception
nil))
object: nil
location: (location (name school) (external-aspect white))
direction: nil
narrative information which should be narrated, and the
paralepsis is one that dare narrate the narrative
information which should be overlooked.
Narrative Transformation Based on the
Difference of Perspectives
We implemented a system by Allegro Common Lisp
which transformed variously conceptual data expressing
a story based on the specification of perspectives. A
user gives a sequence of events, the information related
to their events and a particular type of perspective, and
the system outputs a sequence of transformed events.
The conceptual expression of each event in a story has
an event concept as first item and pairs of some slots
like actor, object and place, and their values. Each
element in an event concept is linked to a particular
element in persona-frames, object-frames, and placeframes. Slots in a persona-frame are name, sex,
e xternal-aspect, internal-aspect and perception. The
perception slot stores an event that the persona
currently percepts. Two frames of object-frame and
place-frame respectively have a name slot and an
external feature slot.
We show the processing of transformation
corresponding to each perspective. We omit example
except two cases, internal fixed perspective and internal
variable perspective:
(1) Basic perspectives’ processing: There are following
three types of processing.
(1-1) Zero perspective’s processing: Because it means a
perspective by which can know all situations in a
story, the system outputs the information inputted
into the story as it is.
(1-2) Internal fixed perspective’s processing: First, this
perspective outputs information about action(s) in the
event(s) that a particular person functioning as the
center of perspective (a focalized person) does ,
external information described in the event(s), and
internal information of the focalized person. Next, if
this focalized person knows other event(s), the
system outputs action’s information and external
information in the event(s), and removes the internal
information in the person who is an origin of the
event(s) information that the focalized person knew,
because it(they) can not be found by internal
perspective of the focalized person. We show an
e xample of internal fixed perspective's outputs;
(1-3) External perspective’s processing: This
perspective outputs only external actions (actions
which appears outside) and the information of
external aspect among the narrative information
included in the story. Therefore, the system removes
mental actions (which do not appear outside thinking
and considering) of a character and internal
information.
(2) Applicable perspective’s processing: Applicable
perspectives are divided into following four types.
(2-1) Internal variable perspective’s processing: This
perspective requires that a focalized character
changes in a same story. Therefore, the system
rearranges a sequence of events so that a same
focalized person does not continue, then processes
each event with internal fixed perspective of the
person which had caused it.
(2-2) Internal multiple perspectives’ processing: The
internal multiple perspectives can not multiply
narrate, unless several characters know a certain
event. That is to say, this needs an event which
several characters perceive. For this reason, the
system checks the perception slot in a character
frame as first process. When an event which several
characters perceive exists, the system processes it
with internal fixed perspectives of the characters
which perceive the event. Following is an example of
internal variable perspective's outputs;
Events in a story = (Taro (event (time 1600) (act find) (actor
(person (name Taro) (sex male) (external-aspect cheerfulexpression) (internal-aspect calm-mood) (perception (event
(time 1600) (act walk) (actor (person (name Hanako) (sex
female) (external-aspect expressionless) (internal-aspect calmmood) (perception nil))) (object nil) (location (location (name
school) (external-aspect white))) (direction nil))))) (object
(person (name Hanako) (sex female) (external-aspect
expressionless) ///internal-aspect-was-deleted/// (perception
nil))) (location (location (name school) (external-aspect
white))) (direction nil)) (event (time 1600) (act walk) (actor
[1] Events = (Taro (event (time 1602) (act see) (actor (person
(name Taro) (sex male) (external-aspect cheerful-expression)
(internal-aspect happy) (perception (event…)))
===<<< perspective : Taro >>>===
--- Narration information based on Taro --time: 16:02
act: see
140
actor: (person (name Taro) (sex male) (external-aspect
cheerful-expression) (internal-aspect happy) (perception
(event…)))
object: (person (name Hanako) (sex female) (external-aspect
expressionless) ///internal-aspect-was-deleted/// (perception
(event…)))
location: (location (name school) (external-aspect white))
direction: nil
--- Narrative information based on Hanako --time: 16:02
act: be-seen
actor: (person (name Hanako) (sex female) (external-aspect
expressionless) ///internal-aspect-was-deleted/// (perception
(event (time 1602) (act see) (actor personA-3) (object personB3) (location locationA-1) (direction nil))))
object: nil
location: (location (name school) (external-aspect white))
direction: nil
[2] Events in a story = (Hanako (event (time 1602) (act be-seen)
(actor (person (name Hanako) (sex female) (external-aspect
expressionless) (internal-aspect surprise) (perception (event
…)))
===<<< perspective : Hanako >>>===
--- Narrative information based on Hanako --time: 1602
act: be-seen
actor: (person (name Hanako) (sex female) (external-aspect
expressionless) (internal-aspect surprise) (perception (event
…)))
object: nil
location: (location (name school) (external-aspect white))
direction: nil
--- Narrative information based on Taro --time: 16:02
act: see
actor: (person (name Taro) (sex male) (external-aspect
cheerful-expression)
///internal-aspect-was-deleted///
(perception (event (time 1602) (act be-seen) (actor personB-3)
(object nil) (location locationA-1) (direction nil))))
object: (person (name Hanako) (sex female) (external-aspect
expressionless) ///internal-aspect-was-deleted/// (perception
(event (time 1602) (act see) (actor personA-3) (object personB3) (location locationA-1) (direction nil))))
location: (location (name school) (external-aspect white))
direction: nil
quantity of narrative information about that event,
and processes the other events according to a
consistent type of perspective. For example , the
system makes the consistent type of perspective of
external perspective, and decides at random the event
which dare narrates the narrative information which
should not be narrated. It outputs the information in
that event with internal fixed perspective in the
event's actor, and outputs the information of all
events except that event with external perspective.
Duration’s Analysis and Simulation
Duration means relations between temporal passage in a
story and the quantity of the description. It is the flow
of time like “slow” and “speedy” in a narrative. We
think about a detailed expansion of “duration”
(explained in next section) by Genette to do simple
computer simulation.
First, we abstract lower level’s rhetorical
techniques in four types of macro techniques and sub
techniques under each one classified by Genette
through the analysis of a novel. Next, we propose a
formula for calculating the speed of description in a
story or its part, or the degree of description’s detail in
an event of a story. Last, we think that these differences
are controlled by the usage of Genette’s four duration’s
techniques and the lower rhetorical techniques, and
show an idea for a narration generation system in sports
domain including techniques of duration and the control
mechanism.
The Expansion of Duration
(2-3) Paralipsis's processing: In the case of paralipsis, it
is necessary to omit particular narrative information
which should be narrated logically. For this reason,
first, the system decides an event which it does not
narrate the narrative information which should be
narrated. Next, the system reduces the quantity of
narrative information about the event, and processes
other events according to a consistent type of
perspective. Describ ing concretely, the system makes
the consistent perspective's type of zero perspective,
and decides at random an event which does not
narrate the narrative information should be narrated.
Then, it deletes the actor's internal aspect in the event,
and outputs all events except that event with zero
perspective.
(2-4) Paralepsis's processing: Paralepsis is a type that
dare narrates the narrative information which should
be overlooked. For this reason, the system decides
the event which narrates narrative information which
should be overlooked. And then, it increases the
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Genette divided duration into four types techniques;
pause, scene, summary and ellipsis, but did not show
more detailed or concrete classification. In this section,
we show the definitions of duration’s sub categories by
Prince’s description, and lower level’s techniques under
each technique acquired from the analysis of a novel
and a document of sport announcement. (Currently, this
classification is still incomplete and tentative because
two goals of pure discourse classification and the
development of sports announcement system.)
First, pause is “a canonical narrative TEMPO;
along with ELLIPSIS, SCENE, SUMMARY, and
STRETCH, one of the fundamental narrative SPEEDS.
When some part of the narrative text or some
DISCOURSE TIME corresponds to no elapsing of
STORY TIME, pause obtains (and the narrative can be
said to come to a stop). A pause can be occasioned by a
description or by a narrator’s commentarial
excursuses.” There are next categories:
(1) Explanation: the conceptual narration about
narrative elements such as character, event, object and
so on.
(2) Digression: the narration not having the relation
with the story to be narrated.
(3) Description: the detailed and concrete narration
about character, event, object and so on.
Second, scene is “one of the fundamental narrative
SPEEDS. When there is some sort of equivalence
between a narrative segment and the NARRATED it
represents (as in DIALOGUE, for instance), when the
DISCOURSE TIME is (considered) equal to the
STORY TIME, scene obtains.” There are kinds of more
detailed categories:
(1) Live announce: the narration about things occurring
currently.
(1-1) Announce about mental or internal situation: the
narration about the mental situation of narrator itself or
other character(s) in the current scene.
(1-2) Announce about external situation: the narration
about the external situation of character(s) and other
object(s) in the current scene.
(2) Utterance: the content speaking by a character or
characters.
(2-1) Dialogue: the conversation among some
characters.
(2-2) Monologue: the utterance doing by only one
person.
(3) Thought: the internal mo nologues. The themes or
contents include opinion, anticipation, desire, daydream,
question and so on.
Next, summary is “one of the fundamental narrative
SPEEDS. When DISCOURSE TIME is (taken to be)
smaller than STORY TIME, when a narrative segment
is (felt to be) too brief for the NARRATED it represents,
when a relatively short (part of the) narrative text
corresponds to a relatively long narrated time (to a
narrated action that it usually takes a long time to
complete), summary obtains: it covers the range of
speeds between scene and ellipsis.” Sub categories are
as follows.
(1) Report: the narration of result and passage in an
event.
(1-1) Report on an event that had finished: a kind of
recall of a past finished event.
(1-2) Report on an event which has finished: the
narration about an event continuing from a point in the
past to current time.
Last, ellipsis is “one of the fundamental narrative
SPEEDS. When there is no part of the narrative (no
words or sentences, for example) corresponding to
(representing) narratively pertinent situations and
events that took time, ellipsis obtains. An ellipsis can be
frontal and merely institute a break in the temporal
continuity (by skipping over one or several events, one
or several moments of time), or it can be latera l
(PARALIPSIS): in that case, it is not an intervening
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event that goes unmentioned but, rather, one or more
components in a situation that is being recounted. In
other words, given a series of events e1, e2, e3…en
occurring at times t1, t2, t3…tn, respectively or taking
place at time t, we speak of ellipsis when one of the
events is not mentioned. An ellipsis can also be explicit
(underlined by the narrator, as in “I will not say
anything about what happened during that fateful
week”) or implicit (inferable from a lacuna in the
chronology or a break in the sequence of events
recounted).” In this case, Genette himself shows some
sub categories (Explicit ellipses, Implicit ellipses , and
Hypothetical ellipsis ), and we use them.
Next, for considering about the adjustment of these
techniques, we think the rate of detail in a story. It
means the value that divides the number of characters in
an event by the time (minute(s)) in the event. Higher the
value, an event is narrated by many characters. Lower
the value, an event is narrated by little characters. We
analyzed the rate using the document recording a soccer
match’s live announce1 . We at first classified the kinds
of events and then analyzed the rate of story detail in
each event. We show the result in figure 1. We know
that the rates of story detail in same type of events are
various, and the rates of story detail of different events
in the short temporal interval are various.
1
SKYPerfecTV! 2002FIFA WORLDCUP KOREAJAPAN,
JAPANvsBELGIUM , 2002-6-4
CK
the rate
of story
detail
(charact
ers/min
ute)
Caution
Goal
Member-change
400
300
200
100
0
0
15
30 45 60 75
time(minute)
90
Figure 1: The rate of story detail of some events in
the live announce of a soccer play
For an Application to Natural Language
Generation System for Sports
Based on the classification of duration and the rate of
detail in a story, we made a simple experimental system
toward an application to natural language generation
system for sport plays. In this system, the rhetoric of
duration classified is constituted by a hierarchical
system of techniques, and the moving up and down
adjusts the changing of duration. We prepared eight
kinds of soccer events: shoot, free-kick, corner-kick,
goal, member-changing, foul, card and playing. For
each event, we prepared the hierarchy to be narrated.
Higher level in the hierarchy means high speed, namely
short duration, and lower level means low speed,
namely long duration.
The system requires information from a user in
each time in a soccer play. Information to be inputted is,
for example, “event, time, team-name, player-number”.
The data about the inputted “event” is added into
knowledge base, and the system retrieves a play’s name
from the “team-name” and “player-number”. Based on
above information, the system generates a sequence of
conceptual representation and simple natural language
expressing a part of live announce. The system repeats
this processing. Figure 2 shows an example of system’s
processing flow.
characteristics as narration in discourse. These
categories and techniques are executed by strategic
knowledge. Duration and distance also have an aspect
as the strategic knowledge for controlling the usage of
concrete narrative techniques, but the problem of more
macro and higher level’s strategy relates to voice,
namely last big discourse category. The voice means
the features of narrator and narratee like temporal and
spatial levels, communication between them, and other
information, and essentially thinking, all other
discourse categories are realized by a kind of power of
voice. Therefore, we should organize aspects of
narrative discourse under voice.
As a technological subject of experiments on
computer for integration, it is necessary to define a
common data structure for narrative representation to be
operated by narrative discourse techniques.
References
Genette, G. (1972). Discourse du recit, essai de
methode, In Figures Ⅲ , Seuil:Paris. (Japanese
translation by Hanawa, H. and Izumi, R. Suiseisha:Tokyo, 1985.)
Graham, P. (1996). ANSI Common Lisp, First Edition,
Pearson Education.
Mukouyama, K., Shinohara, K., Kanai, A. & Ogata, T.
(2002). Rhetorical Analysis and Automatic Editing
of the Film, Proceedings of 17th Congress of the
International Association of Empirical Aesthetics,
571-574.
Murayama, Y. (1994). Tenshi no tamago, Shueisha:Tokyo.
Ogata, T. (2002). Expanded literary theory:
Cognitive/computational expansion of literary
theories and narratology. Proceedings of the 17th
Congress of the International Association of
Empirical Aesthetics, 163-166.
Prince, G. (1987). A Dictionary of Narratology. The
University of Nabraska Press.
Yamakage, S. and Ogata, T. (2003). A Computation
Mechanism of the “Distance” in Narratives.
Proceedings of the 17th Annual Conference of JSAI,
2G2-05. (In Japanese)
Figure 2: An example of system’s processing flow
Toward the
Discourse
Integration
of
Narrative
Various types of narrative techniques for discourse are
of course used in an organic integration in real narrative
phenomena. We have studied separately each aspect
until now, but considering the method of integration is a
current important subject. We would like to touch the
problem briefly at last.
We think that narrative discourse rhetoric is
divided into some types from operational viewpoint.
First type’s discourse is one by which the narrative
structure operating is transformed. This category for
structural operation has techniques for time order and
frequency. The application of their techniques to a unit
of narrative causes the structural transformation of the
unit without basically the change of information content.
Perspective is similar to this type except that the
information content can be deleted by omission.
Duration in time and distance in mood are categories to
indicate more precise narrative techniques. Basically,
we think that both categories are realized by the set of
lower level’s techniques like description, explanation,
summary, etc, and these techniques create strongly the
143