Week 6: constituency syntax Flashcards
Roughly describe what syntax is
Building sentences out of “smaller things”
What term to typologists prefer to syntax?
morphosyntax
Name two things that are finite in linguistics
Number of words (at any given moment)
Number of word forms of a word type
Name something that is infinite in linguistics
Number of word combinations
Therefore we need algorithms
What questions do syntax ask
- Is this a valid (grammatical) sentence?
- How can I encode meaning in a sentence?
What is a constituent?
The surface representation of a parse-tree subtree
Give two types of parsing rules
- Prohibiting some word types from tightly combining
- Defining the order some word types combine
Name universally recognised constituent types
Noun Phrase (NP)
Prepositional Phrase (PP)
Verb Phrase (VP)
(Determiner Phrase (DP))
Define NP
Nominal/noun phrase
A group pf words clustered around something that looks and behaves like a noun.
Can be replaced by a pronoun (it remains an NP)
Define PP
Prepositional Phrase
Formed by combining an NP with a preposition
Cannot be replaced by a pronoun but sometimes can be replaced by an adverb
What about PPs leads to multiple readings?
Their freedom of attachment to other parts of the sentence
Define DPs
(Theory dependent) Determiner Phrase
An NP where the determiner is the more important part of the phrase
Define VP
Verb phrase
Verb and all its arguments, separate from subject
What (binary branching thing) is done when parsing programming languages?
Chomsky normal form
Types of constituency tests (four)
- Adding things
- Moving things
- Removing things
- Replacing things
Types of substitution tests
NP can be replaced by pronoun
PP can be replaced by adverb
VP can be replaced by “do so” substitution
Intrusion test
If you can add an adverb, it ends up between two constituents. (Use “definitely”)
Coordination test
Constituents of the same type should be able to be combined using “and”
Right-node test
If something is shared by two coordinated constituents, that thing must be a constituent itself
Topicalisation and (pseudo-)clefting
Ways of moving things to the ‘left periphery’. If something can be moved, it is a constituent.
Topicalisation, clefting or pseudo-clefting?
“I know her, and polar bears she definitely hunts”
Topicalisation
Topicalisation, clefting or pseudo-clefting?
“It is polar bears that she hunts.”
Clefting
Topicalisation, clefting or pseudo-clefting?
“What she hunts is polar bears”
Pseudo-clefting
Wh-fronting
Constituents can be replaced by a question word
Pros of constituency syntax
Intuitive
Backed up by lots of research
Provides good descriptions
Can be implemented consistently
Cons of constituency syntax
Theory dependent
Constituency tests are language dependent
Constituents are assumed to be contiguous
