Ash Asudeh
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199206421
- eISBN:
- 9780191738081
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199206421.003.0003
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Semantics and Pragmatics, Syntax and Morphology
This chapter is a brief introduction to Lexical-Functional Grammar (LFG), the syntactic framework and grammatical architecture that is assumed in this book. First, I introduce the Correspondence ...
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This chapter is a brief introduction to Lexical-Functional Grammar (LFG), the syntactic framework and grammatical architecture that is assumed in this book. First, I introduce the Correspondence Architecture, the grammatical architecture of LFG. I then introduce the most relevant components of the architecture: constituent structure, functional structure, and semantic structure. I next introduce templates, which allow grammatical generalizations to be captured compactly, with inheritance of information by more specific descriptions from more general descriptions. There are also sections outlining syntactic aspects of anaphora and anaphoric binding, the non-transformational, trace-less treatment of unbounded dependencies, and the treatment of raising.Less
This chapter is a brief introduction to Lexical-Functional Grammar (LFG), the syntactic framework and grammatical architecture that is assumed in this book. First, I introduce the Correspondence Architecture, the grammatical architecture of LFG. I then introduce the most relevant components of the architecture: constituent structure, functional structure, and semantic structure. I next introduce templates, which allow grammatical generalizations to be captured compactly, with inheritance of information by more specific descriptions from more general descriptions. There are also sections outlining syntactic aspects of anaphora and anaphoric binding, the non-transformational, trace-less treatment of unbounded dependencies, and the treatment of raising.
Ash Asudeh
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199206421
- eISBN:
- 9780191738081
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199206421.001.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Semantics and Pragmatics, Syntax and Morphology
This book is a cross-linguistic investigation of resumptive pronouns and related phenomena. Pronominal resumption is the realization of the base of a syntactic dependency as a bound pronoun. ...
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This book is a cross-linguistic investigation of resumptive pronouns and related phenomena. Pronominal resumption is the realization of the base of a syntactic dependency as a bound pronoun. Resumption occurs in unbounded dependencies, such as relative clauses and questions, and in the variety of raising known as copy raising. Processing factors may also give rise to resumption, even in environments where it does not normally occur in a given language. A new theory of resumption is proposed that is based on two key assumptions, one theoretical and one empirical/typological. The first assumption is that natural language is resource-sensitive (the Resource Sensitivity Hypothesis); this is captured through the use of a resource logic for semantic composition. The second assumption is that resumptive pronouns are ordinary pronouns in their morphological and lexical properties, based on typologically robust observations (McCloskey's Generalization). The theory is formalized in terms of Glue Semantics for semantic composition, with a Lexical-Functional Grammar syntax. The theory achieves a novel unification of hitherto heterogeneous resumption phenomena. It unifies two kinds of resumptive pronouns that are found in unbounded dependencies --- one kind behaves syntactically like a gap, whereas the other kind does not. It also unifies resumptive pronouns in unbounded dependencies with the obligatory pronouns in copy raising. The theory also provides the basis for a new understanding of processing-based resumption, both in production and in parsing and interpretation.Less
This book is a cross-linguistic investigation of resumptive pronouns and related phenomena. Pronominal resumption is the realization of the base of a syntactic dependency as a bound pronoun. Resumption occurs in unbounded dependencies, such as relative clauses and questions, and in the variety of raising known as copy raising. Processing factors may also give rise to resumption, even in environments where it does not normally occur in a given language. A new theory of resumption is proposed that is based on two key assumptions, one theoretical and one empirical/typological. The first assumption is that natural language is resource-sensitive (the Resource Sensitivity Hypothesis); this is captured through the use of a resource logic for semantic composition. The second assumption is that resumptive pronouns are ordinary pronouns in their morphological and lexical properties, based on typologically robust observations (McCloskey's Generalization). The theory is formalized in terms of Glue Semantics for semantic composition, with a Lexical-Functional Grammar syntax. The theory achieves a novel unification of hitherto heterogeneous resumption phenomena. It unifies two kinds of resumptive pronouns that are found in unbounded dependencies --- one kind behaves syntactically like a gap, whereas the other kind does not. It also unifies resumptive pronouns in unbounded dependencies with the obligatory pronouns in copy raising. The theory also provides the basis for a new understanding of processing-based resumption, both in production and in parsing and interpretation.
Stephen Wechsler
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- April 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199279883
- eISBN:
- 9780191757563
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199279883.003.0005
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology, Psycholinguistics / Neurolinguistics / Cognitive Linguistics
This chapter describes formal theories and frameworks for capturing the mapping from word meaning to syntactic structure. First, lexical approaches are presented. The development of ...
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This chapter describes formal theories and frameworks for capturing the mapping from word meaning to syntactic structure. First, lexical approaches are presented. The development of Lexical-Functional Grammar approaches are described, from early LFG valence-changing rules to the later Lexical Mapping Theory, as well as proposals for a syntacticized argument structure motivated by the phenomenon of syntactic ergativity. Next, Head-Driven Phrase Structure Grammar is detailed. Sign-Based Construction Grammar, a recent variant of HPSG, is compared. Following the lexical approaches is a look at construction grammar approaches, including both phrasal approaches and lexical mapping with argument structure constructions. The third class of theories involves positing abstract light verbs in the syntax that are responsible for assigning semantic roles.Less
This chapter describes formal theories and frameworks for capturing the mapping from word meaning to syntactic structure. First, lexical approaches are presented. The development of Lexical-Functional Grammar approaches are described, from early LFG valence-changing rules to the later Lexical Mapping Theory, as well as proposals for a syntacticized argument structure motivated by the phenomenon of syntactic ergativity. Next, Head-Driven Phrase Structure Grammar is detailed. Sign-Based Construction Grammar, a recent variant of HPSG, is compared. Following the lexical approaches is a look at construction grammar approaches, including both phrasal approaches and lexical mapping with argument structure constructions. The third class of theories involves positing abstract light verbs in the syntax that are responsible for assigning semantic roles.
Oliver Bond, Greville G. Corbett, Marina Chumakina, and Dunstan Brown (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- October 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780198747291
- eISBN:
- 9780191809705
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198747291.001.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology, Language Families
Imagine how the discipline of linguistics would be if expert practitioners of different theories met in a collaborative setting to tackle the same challenging data—to test the limits of their model’s ...
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Imagine how the discipline of linguistics would be if expert practitioners of different theories met in a collaborative setting to tackle the same challenging data—to test the limits of their model’s infrastructure and examine how the concrete predictions of their theories differ about the same data. This book represents the result of attempting to achieve this for syntactic theory, using data from Archi (Nakh–Daghestanian, Lezgic), an endangered language with an extremely complex agreement system. We undertake a controlled evaluation of three widely practised syntactic theories, through detailed examination of the theoretical principles underlying the mechanisms that model agreement. Our objective is to assess the tractability and predictive power of these leading models of syntax—Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG), Lexical Functional Grammar (LFG), and Minimalism—using a complete set of data on an agreement system from a language that has not hitherto been analysed in these frameworks.Less
Imagine how the discipline of linguistics would be if expert practitioners of different theories met in a collaborative setting to tackle the same challenging data—to test the limits of their model’s infrastructure and examine how the concrete predictions of their theories differ about the same data. This book represents the result of attempting to achieve this for syntactic theory, using data from Archi (Nakh–Daghestanian, Lezgic), an endangered language with an extremely complex agreement system. We undertake a controlled evaluation of three widely practised syntactic theories, through detailed examination of the theoretical principles underlying the mechanisms that model agreement. Our objective is to assess the tractability and predictive power of these leading models of syntax—Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG), Lexical Functional Grammar (LFG), and Minimalism—using a complete set of data on an agreement system from a language that has not hitherto been analysed in these frameworks.
John J. Lowe
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- August 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780198701361
- eISBN:
- 9780191770630
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198701361.003.0003
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics, Semantics and Pragmatics
This chapter provides a concise yet valuable introduction to the formal grammatical framework utilized in the work, Lexical-Functional Grammar (LFG). It first explains the two original components of ...
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This chapter provides a concise yet valuable introduction to the formal grammatical framework utilized in the work, Lexical-Functional Grammar (LFG). It first explains the two original components of the theory, constituent structure and functional structure, discussing the cross-linguistic variation attested in c-structure configuration in contrast with the cross-linguistic uniformity of f-structure. Secondly, the semantic formalism, glue semantics, is introduced, and the particular combination of glue with Discourse Representation Theory (DRT) is explained. Finally, the remaining components of the LFG architecture are introduced, with particular focus on information structure, the string, and prosodic structure.Less
This chapter provides a concise yet valuable introduction to the formal grammatical framework utilized in the work, Lexical-Functional Grammar (LFG). It first explains the two original components of the theory, constituent structure and functional structure, discussing the cross-linguistic variation attested in c-structure configuration in contrast with the cross-linguistic uniformity of f-structure. Secondly, the semantic formalism, glue semantics, is introduced, and the particular combination of glue with Discourse Representation Theory (DRT) is explained. Finally, the remaining components of the LFG architecture are introduced, with particular focus on information structure, the string, and prosodic structure.
Oliver Bond, Greville G. Corbett, and Marina Chumakina
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- October 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780198747291
- eISBN:
- 9780191809705
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198747291.003.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology, Language Families
Agreement is a typologically common syntactic phenomenon that should be at the core of the design of every model of syntax. Even the straightforward examples of agreement are puzzling for ...
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Agreement is a typologically common syntactic phenomenon that should be at the core of the design of every model of syntax. Even the straightforward examples of agreement are puzzling for syntacticians, because agreement involves both redundancy and arbitrariness. The indirect relationship between semantics and sentence structure expressed by agreement is thus a significant source of syntactic complexity, exacerbated by great diversity of its morphological expression. While syntactic theories all attempt to account for the role of syntax in grammar, there are inevitable differences in the principles and theoretical mechanisms underlying each model. To assess and compare the operability of syntactic theories, an independent evaluation tool is essential. Our chosen source of data, Archi, presents a rare case of a language whose agreement system challenges major claims found in three mainstream syntactic theories: Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG), Lexical Functional Grammar (LFG), and Minimalism.Less
Agreement is a typologically common syntactic phenomenon that should be at the core of the design of every model of syntax. Even the straightforward examples of agreement are puzzling for syntacticians, because agreement involves both redundancy and arbitrariness. The indirect relationship between semantics and sentence structure expressed by agreement is thus a significant source of syntactic complexity, exacerbated by great diversity of its morphological expression. While syntactic theories all attempt to account for the role of syntax in grammar, there are inevitable differences in the principles and theoretical mechanisms underlying each model. To assess and compare the operability of syntactic theories, an independent evaluation tool is essential. Our chosen source of data, Archi, presents a rare case of a language whose agreement system challenges major claims found in three mainstream syntactic theories: Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG), Lexical Functional Grammar (LFG), and Minimalism.
John J. Lowe
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- August 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780198701361
- eISBN:
- 9780191770630
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198701361.001.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics, Semantics and Pragmatics
This book examines the syntax and semantics of tense-aspect stem participles in the Ṛgveda. The Ṛgveda is an ancient collection of sacred Indian hymns, written in the Vedic Sanskrit language, and is ...
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This book examines the syntax and semantics of tense-aspect stem participles in the Ṛgveda. The Ṛgveda is an ancient collection of sacred Indian hymns, written in the Vedic Sanskrit language, and is one of the oldest extant texts in any Indo-European language. The author applies formal linguistic analysis, within the framework of Lexical-Functional Grammar (LFG), to the complex and often controversial data, to produce a comprehensive formal model of how participles are used. This analysis makes it possible to reassess and recategorize the forms concerned, defining certain stems and subcategories as marginal within, or even outside, the synchronic category of participle on the basis of their syntactic and semantic properties. In a wider perspective, the author reassesses participles as a category within the wider verbal and nominal systems of the language, in the context of their Proto-Indo-European prehistory, and from the perspective of participle typology. It is argued that tense-aspect stem participles should be analysed as adjectival verbs, not verbal adjectives, but that even so participles are not fully dependent on corresponding finite verb forms. Rather, they constitute a coherent but independent subcategory within the verbal system of the language. These and many other of his conclusions either directly challenge or radically revise received opinion and recent work.Less
This book examines the syntax and semantics of tense-aspect stem participles in the Ṛgveda. The Ṛgveda is an ancient collection of sacred Indian hymns, written in the Vedic Sanskrit language, and is one of the oldest extant texts in any Indo-European language. The author applies formal linguistic analysis, within the framework of Lexical-Functional Grammar (LFG), to the complex and often controversial data, to produce a comprehensive formal model of how participles are used. This analysis makes it possible to reassess and recategorize the forms concerned, defining certain stems and subcategories as marginal within, or even outside, the synchronic category of participle on the basis of their syntactic and semantic properties. In a wider perspective, the author reassesses participles as a category within the wider verbal and nominal systems of the language, in the context of their Proto-Indo-European prehistory, and from the perspective of participle typology. It is argued that tense-aspect stem participles should be analysed as adjectival verbs, not verbal adjectives, but that even so participles are not fully dependent on corresponding finite verb forms. Rather, they constitute a coherent but independent subcategory within the verbal system of the language. These and many other of his conclusions either directly challenge or radically revise received opinion and recent work.
Dunstan Brown and Peter Sells
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- October 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780198747291
- eISBN:
- 9780191809705
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198747291.003.0008
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology, Language Families
The set of agreement problems presented by Archi test the adequacy of available infrastructure in theoretical models of agreement and reveal the basic similarities that underpin different approaches. ...
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The set of agreement problems presented by Archi test the adequacy of available infrastructure in theoretical models of agreement and reveal the basic similarities that underpin different approaches. This three-way comparison of Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG), Lexical Functional Grammar (LFG), and Minimalism exposes the strengths and weaknesses of each theory by comparing their accounts of specific empirical problems. To this end, the behaviour of numeral phrases provides good insight into NP/DP agreement and canonical clausal agreement, while the accounts of biabsolutive constructions tackle a more unusual syntactic problem. Examining the generality of the theoretical apparatus (in terms of how much new infrastructure has to be introduced to deal with the problem sets) and predictive ability (namely, the extent to which the relative restrictiveness of the approaches is beneficial or inadequate in dealing with ‘highly complex’ systems of agreement) helps us understand fundamental differences between each of the frameworks.Less
The set of agreement problems presented by Archi test the adequacy of available infrastructure in theoretical models of agreement and reveal the basic similarities that underpin different approaches. This three-way comparison of Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG), Lexical Functional Grammar (LFG), and Minimalism exposes the strengths and weaknesses of each theory by comparing their accounts of specific empirical problems. To this end, the behaviour of numeral phrases provides good insight into NP/DP agreement and canonical clausal agreement, while the accounts of biabsolutive constructions tackle a more unusual syntactic problem. Examining the generality of the theoretical apparatus (in terms of how much new infrastructure has to be introduced to deal with the problem sets) and predictive ability (namely, the extent to which the relative restrictiveness of the approaches is beneficial or inadequate in dealing with ‘highly complex’ systems of agreement) helps us understand fundamental differences between each of the frameworks.
Louisa Sadler
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- October 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780198747291
- eISBN:
- 9780191809705
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198747291.003.0006
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology, Language Families
In Lexical Functional Grammar (LFG), syntactic agreement is primarily modelled as sharing or co-specification of agreement features at the level of f(unctional)-structure, which represents abstract ...
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In Lexical Functional Grammar (LFG), syntactic agreement is primarily modelled as sharing or co-specification of agreement features at the level of f(unctional)-structure, which represents abstract grammatical relations and their properties, rather than at the level of constituency or phrase structure. LFG’s projection architecture also accommodates a multi-dimensional approach. While many agreement relations refer solely to f-structure notions, others may also refer to or depend on further constraints at other levels of representation. Since evidence suggests that Archi is morphologically ergative, agreement generalizations can be modelled by means of parameterized templates called by lexical entries. This lexical treatment allows agreement across the lexicon to be specified in a succinct manner while allowing for lexical idiosyncrasy.Less
In Lexical Functional Grammar (LFG), syntactic agreement is primarily modelled as sharing or co-specification of agreement features at the level of f(unctional)-structure, which represents abstract grammatical relations and their properties, rather than at the level of constituency or phrase structure. LFG’s projection architecture also accommodates a multi-dimensional approach. While many agreement relations refer solely to f-structure notions, others may also refer to or depend on further constraints at other levels of representation. Since evidence suggests that Archi is morphologically ergative, agreement generalizations can be modelled by means of parameterized templates called by lexical entries. This lexical treatment allows agreement across the lexicon to be specified in a succinct manner while allowing for lexical idiosyncrasy.
John J. Lowe
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- June 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198793571
- eISBN:
- 9780191835353
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198793571.003.0007
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics, Theoretical Linguistics
This chapter briefly considers the evidence for transitive nouns and adjectives in early Indo-Aryan in both a typological and a theoretical perspective. The fact that most transitive nouns and ...
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This chapter briefly considers the evidence for transitive nouns and adjectives in early Indo-Aryan in both a typological and a theoretical perspective. The fact that most transitive nouns and adjectives in early Indo-Aryan fall under the traditional heading of ‘agent nouns’ (subject-oriented formations) is typologically notable, since while action nouns with verbal government are well-known, the possibility of relatively verbal agent nouns has not always been acknowledged. The theoretical analysis is framed within Lexical-Functional Grammar, and makes use of the concept of ‘mixed’ categories to effect a clear formalization of transitive nouns and adjectives which captures their transitivity while allowing them to remain fundamentally nouns and adjectives in categorial terms.Less
This chapter briefly considers the evidence for transitive nouns and adjectives in early Indo-Aryan in both a typological and a theoretical perspective. The fact that most transitive nouns and adjectives in early Indo-Aryan fall under the traditional heading of ‘agent nouns’ (subject-oriented formations) is typologically notable, since while action nouns with verbal government are well-known, the possibility of relatively verbal agent nouns has not always been acknowledged. The theoretical analysis is framed within Lexical-Functional Grammar, and makes use of the concept of ‘mixed’ categories to effect a clear formalization of transitive nouns and adjectives which captures their transitivity while allowing them to remain fundamentally nouns and adjectives in categorial terms.
