Abstract syntax as interlingua: Scaling up the grammatical framework from controlled languages to robust pipelines

Syntax is an interlingual representation used in compilers. Grammatical Framework (GF) applies the abstract syntax idea to natural languages. The development of GF started in 1998, first as a tool for controlled language implementations, where it has gained an established position in both academic and commercial projects. GF provides grammar resources for over 40 languages, enabling accurate generation and translation, as well as grammar engineering tools and components for mobile and Web applications. On the research side, the focus in the last ten years has been on scaling up GF to wide-coverage language processing. The concept of abstract syntax offers a unified view on many other approaches: Universal Dependencies, WordNets, FrameNets, Construction Grammars, and Abstract Meaning Representations. This makes it possible for GF to utilize data from the other approaches and to build robust pipelines. In return, GF can contribute to data-driven approaches by methods to transfer resources from one language to others, to augment data by rule-based generation, to check the consistency of hand-annotated corpora, and to pipe analyses into high-precision semantic back ends. This article gives an overview of the use of abstract syntax as interlingua through both established and emerging NLP applications involving GF

Constructicografia multilíngue em ação: diretrizes linguístico-computacionais para o alinhamento de constructicons

This dissertation proposes linguistic-computational guidelines to the alignment of constructicons, having as the starting point the Brazilian Portuguese (BP) Constructicon, developed within FrameNet Brasil (FN-Br) at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora. A constructicon is a syntactic resource, a repository of constructions, as defined by Fillmore et al. (2012). After the initial phase of the BP Constructicon implementation, the current moment of the resource development includes efforts in order to improve the relations among constructions, frames and their elements, increasing the generality and intern coherence of the analysis (ALMEIDA, 2016; LAGE, 2018). Besides that, considering the existence of constructicons for other languages currently under development – English, Swedish, German, Russian and Japanese –,one of the goals of the Brazilian project is to connect those resources in a single multilingual database. However, even with all the projects having the same theoretical basis and the same reference – namely the Construction Grammar and the English Constructicon – they have used different methodologies and approaches for the implementation of their resources. Because of those particularities, when thinking of a proposal of an alignment among constructicons, it’s important to seek a representation that allows them to be aligned despite their specificities and analytical biases. In this matter, this dissertation discusses which methodological procedures could be applied to the efforts of alignment employing a work methodology that is divided into three stages: 1) contrastive analysis of BP, Swedish and English constructions; 2) survey of possibilities of representation of the alignment of these resources; and 3) implementation of the alignment proposal. As a result of the three steps, constructions comparison criteria were elaborated that they can be used by future contrast researches between constructions of different languages, and UDs and framenets were used as intermediate representations for the alignment of constructions and constructicons, allowing other language projects perform constructional alignments towards a multilingual constructicon. Therefore, this work aims contributes to the alignment of constructicons of different languages in the computational and linguistic scope.Esta tese propõe diretrizes linguístico-computacionais para o alinhamento de constructicons, tendo como ponto de partida o Constructicon do português do Brasil (PB), desenvolvido juntamente a FrameNet Brasil (FN-Br) na Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora. Um constructicon e um recurso sintático, um repositório de construções, conforme descrevem Fillmore et al. (2012). Após a fase inicial de implementação do Constructicon do PB, o atual momento de desenvolvimento de tal recurso envolve esforços no sentido de ampliar relações entre construções, frames e seus elementos, aumentando a generalidade e a coerência interna das analises (ALMEIDA, 2016; LAGE, 2018). Ademais, considerando a existência de constructicons em desenvolvimento para outras línguas – inglês, sueco, alemão, russo e japonês –, uma das intenções do projeto brasileiro e conectar os demais recursos em uma base multilíngue. Entretanto, ainda que todos tenham como base teórica e como referencia a Gramatica das Construções e o Constructicon do ingles, foram adotadas diferentes metodologias e abordagens para a implementação desses recursos. Devido a essas particularidades, ao se pensar na proposição de um alinhamento entre constructicons, e fundamental buscar uma representação que permita alinha-los apesar das suas especificidades e enviezamentos analíticos Nesse sentido, esta tese discute quais procedimentos metodológicos poderiam ser aplicados aos esforços de alinhamento entre constructicons, empregando uma metodologia de trabalho que se divide em três etapas: 1) analise contrastiva de construções do PB, do sueco e do inglês; 2) levantamento de possibilidades de representação do alinhamento desses recursos; e 3) implementação da proposta de alinhamento. Como resultado das tres etapas, foram elaborados critérios de comparação de construções que podem ser utilizados por pesquisas futuras de contraste entre construções de línguas distintas e foram utilizadas UDs e framenets como representações intermediarias para o alinhamento de construções e constructicons, permitindo que outros projetos de línguas distintas realizem alinhamentos construcionais em direção a um constructicon multilíngue. Dessa maneira, este trabalho contribui para o alinhamento entre constructicons de línguas distintas no âmbito linguístico e computacional.CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superio

Theoretical and empirical arguments for the reassessment of the notion of paradigm

The volume discusses the breadth of applications for an extended notion of paradigm. Paradigms in this sense are not only tools of morphological description but constitute the inherent structure of grammar. Grammatical paradigms are structural sets forming holistic, semiotic structures with an informational value of their own. We argue that as such, paradigms are a part of speaker knowledge and provide necessary structuring for grammaticalization processes. The papers discuss theoretical as well as conceptual questions and explore different domains of grammatical phenomena, ranging from grammaticalization, morphology, and cognitive semantics to modality, aiming to illustrate what the concept of grammatical paradigms can and cannot (yet) explain

Paradigms regained

The volume discusses the breadth of applications for an extended notion of paradigm. Paradigms in this sense are not only tools of morphological description but constitute the inherent structure of grammar. Grammatical paradigms are structural sets forming holistic, semiotic structures with an informational value of their own. We argue that as such, paradigms are a part of speaker knowledge and provide necessary structuring for grammaticalization processes. The papers discuss theoretical as well as conceptual questions and explore different domains of grammatical phenomena, ranging from grammaticalization, morphology, and cognitive semantics to modality, aiming to illustrate what the concept of grammatical paradigms can and cannot (yet) explain

Paradigms regained

The volume discusses the breadth of applications for an extended notion of paradigm. Paradigms in this sense are not only tools of morphological description but constitute the inherent structure of grammar. Grammatical paradigms are structural sets forming holistic, semiotic structures with an informational value of their own. We argue that as such, paradigms are a part of speaker knowledge and provide necessary structuring for grammaticalization processes. The papers discuss theoretical as well as conceptual questions and explore different domains of grammatical phenomena, ranging from grammaticalization, morphology, and cognitive semantics to modality, aiming to illustrate what the concept of grammatical paradigms can and cannot (yet) explain

Exocentric Noun Phrases in English

The term ‘exocentric noun phrase’ (ENP) refers to a noun phrase without a head noun. The category of ENPs contains a range of nominal constructions including phrasal ones (e.g. the rich, the dead, whose head nouns denoting human references are missing) and clausal ones (e.g. I’ll eat what you give me, in which there seems to be a missing nominal antecedent). Although these constructions have been studied before, there has been very little comprehensive research on ENPs as a category. This thesis has two aims to accomplish: first, it fully examines ENPs with the support of contemporary and historical corpus data; secondly, based on this direct syntactic examination of ENPs, it critically evaluates the possibility of a unified theory. The first aim is addressed in Chapters 3 to 8, in which I conduct systematic reviews of four representative kinds of ENPs in English, i.e. Generic Constructions (ENPs with a pattern of ‘determinative + adjective’ such as the rich or the sublime), referential metonymy (e.g. Shakespeare is on the bookshelf, where Shakespeare refers to his works), compound pronouns (indefinite pronouns with compounding morphology such as someone or anything) and free relatives (relative clauses without explicit antecedents, e.g. She is who I refer to). Syntactic explanations are proposed for each of these ENPs. The second aim is addressed in Chapter 9, based on the proposals of the previous chapters. I argue, contra Huddleston & Pullum et al. (2002) and Payne et al. (2007), that there cannot be a unified solution for all ENPs, including their ‘fusion of functions’ theory (FFT): although ENPs share a superficially similar syntactic structure characterised by the lack of head nouns, the forms of the missing head nouns and the mechanisms underlying the absence of these head nouns vary (historical ellipsis, compounding, conjunction of clauses, etc.). As a result, each kind of ENP needs an individual, more specific account that takes into consideration its own syntactic behaviour and historical development