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Miriam Butt (University of Konstanz) and Martin Forst ( NetBase Solutions)

Grammar Engineering: Set-valued Attributes Various Kinds of Constraints Case Restrictions on Arguments. Miriam Butt (University of Konstanz) and Martin Forst ( NetBase Solutions). Colombo 2014. Set-valued Attributes. Every attribute can only have one value

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Miriam Butt (University of Konstanz) and Martin Forst ( NetBase Solutions)

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  1. Grammar Engineering:Set-valued AttributesVarious Kinds of ConstraintsCase Restrictions on Arguments Miriam Butt (University of Konstanz) and Martin Forst (NetBase Solutions) Colombo 2014

  2. Set-valued Attributes • Every attribute can only have one value • But: Certain elements, e.g. attributive adjectives, adverbial modifiers or PP modifiers can appear multiple times • Solution: These elements are projected into elements of set-valued attributes such as ADJUNCT, MOD, etc.

  3. Set-valued Attributes (cont’d) • Notation VP --> V (NP: (^ OBJ) = !) PP*: ! $ (^ ADJUNCT). NP --> (D) AP*: ! $ (^ ADJUNCT); N.

  4. Various Kinds of Constraints • Defining equations: Contribute a value for the specified attribute Notation: (^ ATTRIBUTE) = value • Constraining equations: Check whether the specified attribute has the specified value, but do not contribute/introduce that value Notation: (^ ATTRIBUTE) =c value Example: Lexical entry of verb may want to check value of PFORM attribute of its PP argument.

  5. Various Kinds of Constraints (cont’d) • Negated constraints: Enforce that the specified attribute does not have the specified value. Notation: (^ ATTRIBUTE) ~= value Example: Base-form entry of English verb may state that (^ SUBJ PERS) ~= 3 if (^ SUBJ NUM) = sg. • Existential constraints: Enforce that the specified attribute has some value, without specifying which value. Notation: (^ ATTRIBUTE) Example: Singular entry of English count noun may state that (^ DEF).

  6. Example of a constraining equation • The zookeeper waited for the gorilla. waited V * PRED=‘wait<(^SUBJ)(^OBL)>’ (^OBL PFORM) =c for (^TENSE) = past (^MOOD) = indicative.

  7. Example of a negated constraint • The gorillas wait for the bananas. wait V * PRED=‘wait<(^SUBJ)(^OBL)>’ (^OBL PFORM) =c for (^TENSE) = pres (^MOOD) = indicative { (^SUBJ NUM) = pl | (^SUBJ NUM) = sg (^SUBJ PERS) ~= 3 }.

  8. Example of an existential constraint • The gorilla ate *(the) banana. banana V * PRED=‘banana’ (^ NUM) = sg (^ DEF).

  9. Various kinds of PPs • Argument PPs with PFORM instead of PRED for preposition • Verb/adjective/noun takes a PP argument with a particular preposition • Preposition does not really provide any meaning Ex.: the zookeeper waited for the gorilla • Argument PPs with PRED for preposition Ex.:thegorilla put the banana in the cage • Verb/adjective/noun takes a PP argument of a certain semantic kind • Preposition does provide same meaning as in adjuncts

  10. Various kinds of PPs • Adjunct PPs (always with PRED for preposition) Ex.: the gorilla waited for hours the gorilla devoured a banana in the cage • No particular relationship between verb/adjective/noun and PP • PP provides additional, but optional information • Preposition carries meaning

  11. Case restrictions on arguments • Many languages use case to mark the grammatical function of arguments of verbs, adjectives, etc. E.g., in English, nominative pronouns can only be subjects whereas accusative/oblique pronouns can only be objects and arguments of prepositions. • However, there is usually not a one-to-one correspondence between case and grammatical function. • Especially in South Asian languages, the relation between case and grammatical function seems to be a complicated one.

  12. Case restrictions on arguments • There may be default cases for certain grammatical functions which can be overwritten by lexically assigned case. I.e., some verbs may a assign an argument a particular case that diverges from the default case. • Apparently, in some languages, the default cases for certain grammatical functions can depend on the tense/aspect of the verb.

  13. Case restrictions on arguments • Back to English: • No major complications • Only pronouns encode case • Subjects must be in nominative case • All other arguments must be in accusative/oblique case S --> NP: (^ SUBJ)=! (! CASE)=nom; VP: ^=!. she PRON * PRED=‘she’ (^ CASE) = nom (^ PERS) = 3 (^ NUM) = sg.

  14. Case restrictions on arguments PP --> P NP: (! CASE) = acc { (^ OBJ)=! | ^ = ! }. her PRON * PRED=‘she’ (^ CASE) = acc (^ PERS) = 3 (^ NUM) = sg.

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