Functional structure

2019 ◽  
pp. 9-88
Author(s):  
Mary Dalrymple ◽  
John J. Lowe ◽  
Louise Mycock
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Phrase Structure ◽  
Functional Structure ◽  
Formal Representation ◽  
Functional Relations ◽  
Subject And Object ◽  
Predicate Argument Structure ◽  
Grammatical Functions

Functional structure is the abstract functional syntactic organization of the sentence, familiar from traditional grammatical descriptions, representing syntactic predicate-argument structure and functional relations like subject and object. Section 2.1 presents motivation for the categories and information appearing in functional structure and outlines some common characteristics of functional structure categories. Section 2.2 demonstrates that grammatical functions are best treated as primitive concepts, as they are in LFG, rather than defined in terms of morphological or phrase structure concepts. Section 2.3 shows that syntactic subcategorization requirements, the array of syntactic arguments required by a predicate, are best stated in functional terms. The formal representation of functional structure (f-structure) and constraints on f-structure representations are discussed in Section 2.4. Finally, Section 2.5 provides an overview of the content and representation of f-structure features.

A Typed Feature-based Grammar of Danish

1997 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-62
Author(s):  
Nancy L. Underwood
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Phrase Structure ◽  
Inflectional Morphology ◽  
Feature Structure ◽  
Formal Framework ◽  
Feature Based ◽  
Predicate Argument Structure

This paper presents an overview of the first broad coverage grammatical description of Danish in a Typed Feature Structure (TFS) based unification formalism inspired by HPSG. These linguistic specifications encompass phenomena within inflectional morphology, phrase structure and predicate argument structure, and have been developed with a view to implementation. The emphasis on implementability and re-usability of the specifications has led to the adoption of a rather leaner formal framework than that underlying HPSG. However, the paper shows that the adoption of such a framework does not lead to a loss of expressibility, but in fact enables certain phenomena, such as the interface between morphology and syntax and local discontinuities, to be treated in a simple and elegant fashion.

Syntactic correspondences

2019 ◽  
pp. 117-138
Author(s):  
Mary Dalrymple ◽  
John J. Lowe ◽  
Louise Mycock
Keyword(s):  
Functional Structure ◽  
Formal Representation ◽  
Natural Explanation ◽  
Constituent Structure ◽  
Lexical Integrity ◽  
Grammatical Functions

LFG hypothesizes that constituent structure (c-structure) and functional structure (f-structure) are mutually constraining structures and that the relation between these structures is governed by constraints associated with words and phrasal configurations. This chapter explores universally valid generalizations regarding the correlation between phrasal positions and grammatical functions. Section 4.1 discusses the formal representation of the relation between c-structure and f-structure. Section 4.2 explores the relation between c-structure and f-structure: how c-structure phrases and their heads relate to f-structure, and the c-structure/f-structure realization of arguments and modifiers. Next, the chapter examines apparent mismatches between units at c-structure and those at f-structure; Section 4.3 shows that these cases have a natural explanation within LFG. Section 4.4 discusses the Lexical Integrity Principle, the concept of wordhood and the possibly complex contribution of words to functional structure, and Section 4.5 discusses the principle of Economy of Expression.

scholarly journals Adding an Annotation Layer to the Hindi/Urdu Treebank

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annette Hautli ◽  
Sebastian Sulger ◽  
Miriam Butt
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Phrase Structure ◽  
Functional Grammar ◽  
Lexical Functional Grammar ◽  
Additional Layer ◽  
Dependency Relations ◽  
Predicate Argument Structure

This paper proposes an additional layer of annotation for the recently established Hindi/Urdu Treebank. Despite the fact that the treebank already features a number of annotation layers such as phrase structure, dependency relations and predicate-argument structure, we see potential for the inclusion of a dependency layer generated from Lexical-Functional Grammar (LFG) f-structures with relations that we believe are crucial for a deep analysis of Urdu/Hindi. The suggestions are based on theoretical and computational investigations into Urdu/Hindi in the context of the Urdu ParGram grammar, through which we can automatically create the additional annotation layer.

Niuean

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane Massam
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Argument Structure ◽  
Word Formation ◽  
Left Periphery ◽  
Sentence Structure ◽  
Noun Incorporation ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Theta Role ◽  
Predicate Argument Structure

This book presents a detailed descriptive and theoretical examination of predicate-argument structure in Niuean, a Polynesian language within the Oceanic branch of the Austronesian family, spoken mainly on the Pacific island of Niue and in New Zealand. Niuean has VSO word order and an ergative case-marking system, both of which raise questions for a subject-predicate view of sentence structure. Working within a broadly Minimalist framework, this volume develops an analysis in which syntactic arguments are not merged locally to their thematic sources, but instead are merged high, above an inverted extended predicate which serves syntactically as the Niuean verb, later undergoing movement into the left periphery of the clause. The thematically lowest argument merges as an absolutive inner subject, with higher arguments merging as applicatives. The proposal relates Niuean word order and ergativity to its isolating morphology, by equating the absence of inflection with the absence of IP in Niuean, which impacts many aspects of its grammar. As well as developing a novel analysis of clause and argument structure, word order, ergative case, and theta role assignment, the volume argues for an expanded understanding of subjecthood. Throughout the volume, many other topics are also treated, such as noun incorporation, word formation, the parallel internal structure of predicates and arguments, null arguments, displacement typology, the role of determiners, and the structure of the left periphery.

scholarly journals Syntax Role for Neural Semantic Role Labeling

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-48
Author(s):  
Zuchao Li ◽  
Hai Zhao ◽  
Shexia He ◽  
Jiaxun Cai
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Language Models ◽  
Semantic Role ◽  
Semantic Role Labeling ◽  
Empirical Survey ◽  
Learning Framework ◽  
Syntactic Information ◽  
Feature Based ◽  
Predicate Argument Structure

Abstract Semantic role labeling (SRL) is dedicated to recognizing the semantic predicate-argument structure of a sentence. Previous studies in terms of traditional models have shown syntactic information can make remarkable contributions to SRL performance; however, the necessity of syntactic information was challenged by a few recent neural SRL studies that demonstrate impressive performance without syntactic backbones and suggest that syntax information becomes much less important for neural semantic role labeling, especially when paired with recent deep neural network and large-scale pre-trained language models. Despite this notion, the neural SRL field still lacks a systematic and full investigation on the relevance of syntactic information in SRL, for both dependency and both monolingual and multilingual settings. This paper intends to quantify the importance of syntactic information for neural SRL in the deep learning framework. We introduce three typical SRL frameworks (baselines), sequence-based, tree-based, and graph-based, which are accompanied by two categories of exploiting syntactic information: syntax pruningbased and syntax feature-based. Experiments are conducted on the CoNLL-2005, 2009, and 2012 benchmarks for all languages available, and results show that neural SRL models can still benefit from syntactic information under certain conditions. Furthermore, we show the quantitative significance of syntax to neural SRL models together with a thorough empirical survey using existing models.

scholarly journals The Bilingual Mental Lexicon and Lemmatic Transfer in Second Language Learning

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. p43
Author(s):  
Longxing Wei
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Argument Structure ◽  
Mental Lexicon ◽  
Language Transfer ◽  
L1 Transfer ◽  
Abstract Approach ◽  
Lexical Structure ◽  
L2 Learning ◽  
Predicate Argument Structure

There have been numerous studies of first Language (L1) transfer in second Language (L2) learning. Various models have been proposed to explore the sources of language transfer and have also caused many controversies over the nature of language transfer and its effects on interlanguage. Different from most previous studies remaining at a surface level of observation, this study proposes an abstract approach, which is abstract because it goes beyond any superficial observation and description by exploring the nature and activity of the bilingual mental lexicon in L2 learning. This approach adopts the Bilingual Lemma Activation Model (BLAM) (Wei, 2006a, 2006b) and tests its crucial assumptions and claims: The bilingual mental lexicon does not simply contain lexemes but abstract entries, called “lemmas”, about them; lemmas in the bilingual mental lexicon are language-specific; language-specific lemmas in the bilingual mental lexicon are in contact in L2 learning, lemmas underlying L1 abstract lexical structure may replace those underlying L2 abstract lexical structure. Lemmas in the bilingual mental lexicon are about three levels of abstract lexical structure: lexical-conceptual structure, predicate-argument structure, and morphological realization patterns. The typical instances of L1 lemma transfer in L2 learning are discussed and explained in support of the BLAM.

scholarly journals Czasowniki mentalne i czasowniki emocji w opisie semantyczno-syntaktycznym

2017 ◽  
Vol 52 ◽  
pp. 139-163
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Korytkowska
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Main Issue ◽  
Semantic Features ◽  
Verb Classes ◽  
Predicate Argument Structure ◽  
Basic Semantic

Mental and emotional verbs in semantic and syntactic descriptionThe main issue of this article concerns relations between the semantic plane of the sentence, which is presented by means of notions of predicate argument structure, and the plane of formal realisation of this structure. The existing attitudes to the studied verb classes are presented. Then rules governing the model of description used are specified (the article has been written within an elaborate scientific grant concerning Bulgarian, Polish and Russian). Obligatory semantic features of both classes are pointed out, followed by an elaboration on the scope of analysis of semantic and syntactic phenomena. This scope is determined by basic semantic sentence categories on which comparative, including contrastive, research is based. Drawing on examples of particular units studied, I then discuss the effectiveness of the analysis which enables comparing differences between sets of sentence structures allowable for each class studied. Those differences stem from semantic differences typical of those classes. Czasowniki mentalne i czasowniki emocji w opisie semantyczno-syntaktycznymTematyka artykułu dotyczy relacji między płaszczyzną semantyczną zdania, ujętą w terminach struktury predykatowo-argumentowej, a płaszczyzną realizacji formalnej tej struktury. Zarysowane zostały dotychczasowe podejścia do opisu badanych klas czasowników oraz sprecyzowano ustalenia dotyczące zastosowanego w artykule modelu opisu (artykuł powstał w związku z realizacją obszernego grantu dotyczącego języka bułgarskiego, polskiego i rosyjskiego). Wskazano obligatoryjne dla obu klas cechy semantyczne oraz scharakteryzowano zakres analizy zjawisk semantyczno-składniowych. Zakres ten wyznaczają podstawowe semantyczne kategorie zdaniowe, których badanie stanowi podstawę dla porównań, także porównań konfrontatywnych. Zaprezentowane zostały przykłady opracowania wybranych jednostek oraz wskazana skuteczność analizy, która pozwala ukazać różnice między zbiorami dopuszczalnych dla każdej z badanych klas struktur zdaniowych. Różnice te wynikają z charakteryzujących te klasy różnic semantycznych.

Language Change, Variation, and Universals

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter W. Culicover
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Language Change ◽  
Conceptual Structure ◽  
Human Mind ◽  
Plains Cree ◽  
Theoretical Foundations ◽  
Parameter Theory ◽  
Grammatical Functions ◽  
The Way

This volume is about how human languages get to be the way they are, why they are different from one another in some ways and not others, and why they change in the ways that they do. Given that language is a universal creation of the human mind, the puzzle is why there are different languages at all, why we don’t all speak the same language. And while there is considerable variation, there are ways in which grammars show consistent patterns. The solution to these puzzles, the author proposes, is a constructional one. Grammars consist of constructions that carry out the function of expressing universal conceptual structure. While there are in principle many different ways of accomplishing this task, the constructions that languages actually use are under pressure to reduce complexity. The result is that there is constructional change in the direction of less complexity, and grammatical patterns emerge that reflect conceptual universals. The volume consists of three parts. Part I establishes the theoretical foundations: situating universals in conceptual structure, formally defining constructions, and characterizing constructional complexity. Part II explores variation in argument structure, grammatical functions, and A′ constructions, drawing on data from a variety of languages, including English and Plains Cree. Part III looks at constructional change, focusing primarily on English and German. The study ends with some observations and speculations on parameter theory, analogy, the origins of typological patterns, and Greenbergian ‘universals’.

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