Proceedings of the International Conference on Head-Driven Phrase Structure Grammar
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Constraining aspectual composition
Get PDFIn Modern Greek there is a rich aspectual system, which involves both
morphologically expressed grammatical aspect and eventuality types, carried
primarily by the meaning of the verbal predicate. Particular emphasis is paid
to the interaction between grammatical aspect and eventuality types, since it
is due to this interaction that the verbal predicate acquires distinct
meanings. In order to explain potential changes in the meaning of the
eventualities caused by the interaction with grammatical aspect, I propose a
formal analysis within HPSG, using Minimal Recursion Semantics (MRS) for the
semantic representations. Following the MRS architecture, I introduce a number
of relations, which represent both grammatical aspect and eventuality
types. The close interaction between grammatical aspect and eventuality types
triggers special meanings which traditionally can be explained by inserting
contextual information into the representations. In this paper, I argue against
such an analysis, providing an alternative which is based on the introduction
of subeventual templates formulated by Michaelis (2003) and Pustejovsky
(1995). In this context, grammatical aspect combines with eventuality types and
selects eventualities or subeventualities appropriate to its selection
restrictions, using information that is already there in the denotation of the
eventualities
Adverb extraction and coordination: A reply to Levine
Get PDFHPSG accounts of filler-gap dependencies hold considerable
potential for explaining the cross-linguistic variation in
unbounded dependency constructions (UDCs), specifically filler-gap
dependencies. This potential comes from the SLASH
specifications that are posited in all nodes along the extraction
path (the path between filler and gap). However, as Hukari and
Levine (1994, 1995, 1996) have observed, the HPSG analysis
presented by Pollard and Sag (1994) fails to embody the
generalizations required in order to explain key universal
properties of UDCs, in particular the ˋregistration\u27 of such
dependencies in cases of subject- and adverb-extraction. This
demonstration led Bouma et al. (2001) to propose a revised UDC
analysis that avoids these difficulties by ˋthreading\u27 the SLASH
specfications through all heads within an extraction
domain. However, Levine (2002) points out that this analysis
encounters a new difficulty concerning the interaction of
extraction and coordination. This paper revisits these issues,
arguing that a small modification of the BMS analysis provides a
solution to the important problem observed by Levine
Phases and binding of reflexives and pronouns in English
Get PDFThis paper proposes a distinct approach to local binding effects for reflexives
and pronominals in English whereby the nature of local binding domains is a
by-product of the incremental interpretation of syntactic derivations
(Uriageraka 1999, Chomsky 2000, 2001), emphasizing the role of the
Conceptual /Intentional interface and the computational system (i.e. bare
output conditions) in shaping general principles of grammars. A significant
development of the Minimalist framework is the proposal that derivations
operate through phases or multiple spell outs, which allows to reduce the
strict cyclicity of derivations, and related locality effects of movement, to
interface (bare output) conditions and economy conditions. In this paper I
propose that incremental interpretation can further capture local binding
domains effects of conditions A and B of Chomsky\u27s (1981, 1986) Binding
Theory. Basically, local binding domains are shown to correspond to
accessible phase domains. Our proposal hence contrasts with standard
analyses (e.g. Reinhart and Reuland 1993, Pollard and Sag 1992) that define
co-argumenthood as the core factor from which binding conditions are
developed. Our proposal also provides a new perspective on the core
contrasts between A-chain and A-bar chain w.r.t. binding and scope
reconstruction effects and argues that checking of the uninterpretable feature
Case is what defines potential phase domains
Semantic composition in reflexivization
Get PDFIt has been commonly assumed since Chomsky (1981) that the distribution of reflexive
pronouns is subject to Binding Condition A. Reinhart and Reuland (1993) formulate
Condition A in terms of the notion of syntactic predicate. The proposal I will
develop in this paper is to factor out semantic and syntactic conditions on the occurrence
of reflexive pronouns and to reduce them to independently motivated semantic and
syntactic mechanisms. The semantic part is attributed to a theory of semantic composition
recently developed by Chung and Ladusaw (2004), while the syntactic residue falls into
the proper characterization of syntactic chains, as proposed by Reinhart and Reuland (1993)
and Reuland (2001). To the extent that this approach is successful, Binding Condition
A is rendered superfluous
From "hand-written" to computationally implemented HPSG theories
Get PDFThe process of turning a hand-written HPSG theory into a working computational grammar requires
complex considerations. Two leading platforms are available for implementing HPSG grammars:
The LKB and
TRALE.
These platforms are based on different approaches, distinct in their underlying logics and
implementation details. This paper adopts the perspective of a computational linguist whose goal is
to implement an HPSG theory. It focuses on ten different dimensions, relevant to HPSG grammar
implementation, and examines, compares, and evaluates the different means which the two approaches
provide for implementing them. The paper concludes that the approaches occupy opposite positions on
two axes: faithfulness to the hand-written theory and computational accessibility. The choice
between them depends largely on the grammar writer\u27s preferences regarding those properties
Projecting RMRS from TIGER dependencies
Get PDFWe present a method for automatic RMRS semantics construction from dependency
structures, following the semantic algebra of Copestake et al. (2001).
We have applied this method to a subset of the TIGER Dependency Bank
for German (Forst et al., 2004) to obtain a semantic treebank for (HPSG)
parser evaluation. We describe the semantics construction mechanism and
give evaluation figures from manual validation of the treebank. These indicate
high precision of the automatic RMRS construction process
Binding conditions: How are they derived?
Get PDFIn this article I discuss binding conditions A and B. I show that important
properties of binding need not be stipulated, but can be explained as
consequences of general properties of the computational system underlying
human language
Integrating pragmatic information in grammar: An analysis of intersentential ellipsis
Get PDFIn this paper we present a proposal to integrate pragmatic
information, both from the preceding discourse and the
extra-linguistic context, in the grammar. We provide an analysis of
elliptical fragments according to how they are anchored to the
context and the kind of resolution they require. We also present an
alternative view about the syntax of fragments
Syncretism in German: A unified approach to underspecification, indeterminacy, and likeness of case
Get PDFIn this paper I address the phenomenon of syncretism in German and
show how Flickinger (2000)\u27s approach to related issues in English can be
adapted to provide a compact, disjunction-free representation of German
nominal paradigms by means of combined case/number/gender type hierarchies.
In particular, I will discuss the issue of case identity constraints in
German coordinate structures, which has so far prevented successful application
of Flickinger\u27s proposal to German, and show how likeness constraints
targetting individual inflectional dimensions of a combined type hierarchy
can be expressed by means of typed lists that abstract out the relevant dimension.
I further show that current type-based approaches to feature neutrality
are unable to combine the treatment of this phenomenon with the virtues of
underspecification. I will then propose a revised organisation of the
inflectional type hierarchies suggested by Daniels (2001), drawing on a systematic
distinction between inherent and external (case) requirements
A head-driven treatment of asymmetric coordination and apposition
Get PDFIn Pollard & Sag (1994) and in Ginzburg & Sag (2000)
phrases are either headed or non-headed, and if they are
headed, there is a relation of selection between the daughters:
either the head daughter selects
its non-head sister(s), as in the phrases of type ˋhead-complements\u27,
or the non-head daughter selects its head
sister, as in the phrases of type ˋhead-adjunct\u27.
In the non-headed phrases, by contrast, there is no
selection; in a coordinate structure, for instance, there is no relation of
selection, neither between the conjuncts nor between the conjunction and
the conjuncts. The central claim of this paper is that there
are also phrases which are headed but in which neither daughter
selects the other.
To model such phrases I propose a new type, called
ˋhead-independent\u27. Its properties are spelled out and its range
of application is illustrated with various examples,
including asymmetric coordination and apposition