5. Discussion
5.1 Topics Triggering Positive SP
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finance, lifestyle) are shown from Appendix C to Appendix H.
Listed below are themes generalized by LDA within the aforementioned topics; these themes contain the news subject matter that journalists typically report about. Among them, we provide a few concordances demonstrating how the prototypical semantic features of a node word relate to the content of news articles.
5.1 Topics Triggering Positive SP
Under topic entertainment, it is observed that the positive tendency of chansheng rises. The typical ten themes are jingpin ‘boutique’, biaoyan ‘performance’, falujiufen ‘lawsuit’, baoyang
‘health maintenance’, shenghuoyule ‘life entertainment’, yiliao ‘medical care’, ganqingbagua
‘gossiping’, yingshi ‘television’, jiating ‘family’, and dianying ‘movie’ (see Appendix D).
Examples expressing positive evaluation for the topic are provided in (7).
(7)
a. 踢踏舞 等 新 元素 ， 和 兒童劇 產生 了 全新 的 「 化學變化 」 。
dietawu deng xin yuansu, he ertongju chansheng le quanxin de
「 huaxuebianhua 」.
tap-dance so-on new element, CONJ children’s drama cause PFV brand-new GEN「 chemical-change 」
‘New elements such as tap dance and children's drama have created a new
"chemical change."’
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touguo erbei huohua mei yiceng de nianqing danbai, youxiao daji suizhe nianling zengchang chansheng de jingtai wen, rang songchi buzai,
through two-time activation each layer GEN young protein, effective strike with age grow cause GEN static wrinkle, let looseness no-more,
‘Through doubling young protein that activates each layer, it effectively combats the static lines that grow with age, stopping the looseness.’
c. 綺麗 風光 收錄 於 衣裙 之間 ， 並 融入 60 年代 未來 風格 輪廓 ， 產生 出
一 種 明快 俐落 的 度假 意象 。
qili fengguang shoulu wu yiqun zhijian, bing rongru 60 niandai weilai fengge lunkuo, chansheng chu yi zhong mingkuai lila de dujia yixiang.
beautiful scenery record in dress within, and blend 60 period future style outline, create out one CLF bright clear-cut GEN vacation image.
‘The beautiful scenery is included in the dress and blended into the futuristic outline of the 1960s, creating a bright and clear-cut holiday image.’
It is possible that (7a) belongs to the theme of biaoyan ‘performance’. The idea of introducing new elements into a performance brings out chemical change in the context shadows the prototypical features of abstract concept (e.g., huaxuebianhua ‘chemical change’) and
description about physical entity or abstract concept (e.g., quanxin ‘brand new’), as shown in Table 13. (7b) relates to the theme of baoyang ‘health maintenance’ and delineates the optimal
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acts and behavior (e.g., huohua ‘activate’) and optimal change (e.g., songchi buzai ‘no more looseness’ ) (cf. Table 13). (7c) is likely to come from the theme of dianying ‘movie’. Its content associates with filming techniques and projected effect, and thus reflects the prototypical feature of abstract concept (e.g., yixiang ‘image’). What we mean by “reflect” here is the indication that a prototypical feature is observable in a given context.
Under topic sports, the positive SP of both chansheng and niangcheng is enhanced. The typical ten themes are lanqiu ‘basketball’, titanjinkuang ‘sports news updates’, qiandu
‘gambling’, taiwanzhibang ‘Taiwanese baseball league’, bangqiu ‘baseball’, jingsai
‘competition’, saishi ‘games’, jianshen ‘workout’, wangqiu ‘tennis’, and shangyezanzhu
‘business partnership’ (see Appendix F). Examples for each node word are provided in (8).
(8)
a. 但 搭配 滑球 與 時速 100 公里 出頭 的 慢速 曲球 ， 產生 不錯 速差 。
dan dapei guqiu yu shisu 100 gongli chutou de mansu quqiu, chansheng bucu sucha.
but match-with slide-ball and speed-per-hour NUM kilometer a-little-more GEN slow curve-ball, cause good-speed-difference.
‘but, with a slide ball and a curved ball that is 100 kilometers per hour, it produces a good speed difference.’
b. 莫瑞絲摩 打法 明顯 進步 ， 產生 個人 特色 ， 她 常 適當 上網 ，
moruisima dafa mengxian jinbu, chansheng geren tese, chi chang didang shangwang,
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PN play obvious improve, cause personal characteristic, 3SG.F often appropriate approach-net,
‘Morrismo has made obvious improvement in her playing and had personal characteristics. She often approaches net appropriately.’
c. 威廉絲 姊妹 在 廣告 中 打 的 並不是 網球 而是 桌球 ， 兩人 產生 不少 特殊
的 笑果 。
weiliansi zimei zai guanggao zhong da de bingbushi wangqiu ershi zhuoqiu, liangren chansheng bushao teshu de xiaoguo.
PN sisters at advertisement among play AUX not tennis but table-tennis, two-people produce many special GEN funny-effect.
‘The Williams sisters played table tennis in the advertisements instead of tennis.
The two produced a lot of special funny effect.’
d. 人 每天 平均 會 產生 1 ~ 10 萬個 腫瘤 細胞 ， 正常 情況 下 免疫系統 會 自
動 判斷 細胞 ，
ren meitian pingjun hui chansheng 1 ~ 10 wan ge zhongliu xibao, zhengchang qingkuang xia mianyijitong hui zidong panduan xibao,
people every-day average will produce 1~10 10-thousand CLF tumor cells, normal condition under immune-system will automatic judge cells
‘On average, people will produce 1 to 100,000 tumor cells per day. Under normal circumstances, the immune system will automatically judge cells.’
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多 的 意外 。
jiezhe yu qiumi baofa chongtu, zuihou bei anquan renyuan husong dao zhuaibo shi cai mei niangcheng gengduo de yiwai.
then with ball-fans burst conflict, eventually PASS secure personnel escort to broadcast room only not cause more GEN accidents.
‘Then there was a conflict with the fans, and s/he was finally escorted by the security personnel to the broadcast room before it caused more accidents.’
f. 隆利 、 布雷克 再 接力 安打 釀成 大局 。
longli, buleike zai chali anda niangcheng daju.
PN, PN again relay hit cause big-game.
‘Longli and Blake also hit, leading to a big baseball game.’
For chansheng, (8a) relates to either theme of taiwanzhibang ‘Taiwanese baseball league’
or bangqiu ‘baseball’. (8b) is likely to come from the theme of wangqiu ‘tennis’. The two instances share the idea of making an optimal change in plays leading to a good consequence or characteristic, and the idea incorporates the prototypical features of acts and behavior (e.g., dapei
‘match with), abstract concept (e.g., tese ‘characteristics’), and optimal change (e.g., jinbu
‘improve’), as shown in Table 15. (8c) is likely to come from the theme of shangyezanzhu
‘business partnership’. Its content is basically describing the humor in an advertisement, which creates a special funny effect to the audiences. The prototypical feature of attributes of physical entity/abstract concept (e.g., teshu ‘special’) is therefore reflected (cf. Table 15). Lastly, (8d)
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associates with the theme of jianshen ‘workout’. It contains the idea of immune systems preventing infections, which reflects the prototypical feature of prevention (e.g., mianyijitong
‘immune system’) (cf. Table 15).
In terms of niangcheng, (8e) may belong to the theme of saishi ‘games’. The idea of official security guards escorting game players to avoid conflict in the text suggests the prototypical feature of settling issues (e.g., husong ‘escort’), as provided in Table 20. (8f)
associates with either the theme of bangqiu ‘baseball’ or jingsai ‘competition’. Here, consecutive hits in an inning leads to positive results, which matches the prototypical feature of desirable description (e.g., daju ‘big game’).
Under topic lifestyle, the positive SP tendency of niangcheng is prompted. The typical ten themes are shying ‘photography’, yiliaozhaohu ‘medical care’, fuzhuang ‘cloths’, xiuxian
‘recreation’, luyou ‘travel’, shicai ‘ingredients’, zhanbo ‘diviation’, qiche ‘car’, shangpintehui
‘discount products’, meishi ‘food’. Examples expressing favorable meaning are provided in (9).
(9)
a. 工作 要 把 話 說 清楚 ， 才 不會 釀成 遺憾 。
gongzuo yao ba hua shuo qingchu, cai buhui niangcheng suida.
work must hold words speak clear, so will-not cause regret
‘making a clear statement must be done at work, so it will not cause regret.’
b. 應去 看 醫生 治療 ， 以免 拖到 最後 釀成 大病 。
yingqu kan yisheng zhiliao, yimian tuodao zuihou niangcheng dabing.
should see doctor treatment, so-as-not-to dragged-to last cause serious-illness.
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the end.’
c. 葡萄 釀成 紅酒 後 ， 紅酒 多酚 也 有 抗氧化 功效 ，
beitao niangcheng gongjiu hou, gongjiu duofen yeyou kangyanghua gongxiao, grape brew wine after, wine polyphenols also have antioxidant effects,
‘After the grapes are made into red wine, the red wine polyphenols also have antioxidant effects.’
d. 或 以 陳年 糙米 醋 、 薰衣草 冰糖 釀成 舒爽 的 「 天 醋 香草 飲品 」 ， 以
及 用 牛蒡 和 地瓜 絲炸過，
huo yi chennian caomi cu, xunyicao bingtang niangcheng shushuang de 「 tian cu xiangcao yinpin 」, yiji yong niubang he degua sizhaguo,
or with aged brown-rice vinegar, lavender crystal-sugar brewed refreshing GEN
“sky vinegar vanilla beverage,” and use burdock and sweet potato,
‘Or use the aged brown rice vinegar and lavender crystal sugar to make a refreshing "sky vinegar vanilla drink" and fried with burdock and sweet potato,’
The content of (9a) is about skill at work, which presumably leads to a desirable outcome. The most possible theme for (9a) is shangpintehui ‘discount products’, since it is intuitively compatible to a work-related context. Moreover, the prototypical feature of desirable description (e.g., shuo qingchu ‘speak clearly’) illustrated in Table 21 is reflected here. (9b) might come from the theme of yiliaozhaohu ‘medical care’. Its content suggests seeking for
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medical care due to discomfort, involving the prototypical feature of medical manner (e.g., zhiliao ‘treatment’) (cf. Table 21).
In terms (9c) and (9d), we find that the other meaning of the node word—brew—is present. (9c) seems to come from the theme of meishi ‘food’, and expresses the idea of the benefit of wine polyphenols; (9d) likely comes from the theme of shicai ‘ingredients’ and describes how ingredients are used to make a beverage. Also, the two instances all reflect the prototypical feature of desirable description (e.g., kangyanghua ‘antioxidant’ and shushuang
‘refreshing’) shown in Table 21. It is possible that the interference from the polysemic nature of the node word might account for the phenomenon that niangcheng appears frequently in positive contexts.