Parsing ellipsis efficiently
This chapter shows how a transformational account of ellipsis allows for a sound and complete parsing algorithm which allows for the efficient processing of discourses containing elliptical sentences. In the context of this implementation, two approaches to ellipsis in the transformational community are naturally seen as equivalent descriptions at different levels: the LF-copying approach to ellipsis resolution is best seen as a description of the parser, whereas the phonological deletion approach is a description of the underlying relation between form and meaning. The parsing algorithm result described in this chapter relies not just on formal properties of the grammar formalism (formal universals) but also, crucially, on linguistic assumptions (substantive universals).