Gross

Le Goffic

Paul Rowlett

English

Rowlett, PA

University of Salford Institutional Repository

French Language Studies 3 (1993), 107-126. Copyright © Cambridge University PressReviewsBaschung, Karine, Grammaires d'unification a traits et contrble des infinitives enfrancais.Clermont-Ferrand: Editions Adosa, 1991, 303 pp. + appendices. 2 86639 007 5This work is a version of the author's doctoral thesis submitted to the University ofClermont-Ferrand II in 1990. The author's purpose is a consideration of obligatory(arbitrary and non-arbitrary) control phenomena, i.e. the interpretation of theimplicit subject of argumental infinitives, on the basis of data from verbal andadjectival control predicates. The author provides theoretical accounts of the databased on models of Feature Unification Grammar, namely Generalized Phrase StructureGrammar (GPSG) and two versions of Unification Categorial Grammar (UCG) speciallyadapted for French, i.e., French Dialogue Parser (FDP) and the closely related FrenchGrammar (FG).After an introductory first chapter, the author presents, in chapter 2, controlphenomena attested in French infinitives as catalogued by Gross (verbs) and Le Goffic& Combe McBride (adjectives). Essentially, pre-theoretical locality constraintsoblige an argumental infinitive to be controlled within its matrix clause. Beyond this,the author suggests uncontroversially that non-potential control, e.g. by an NPembedded in a semantic PP or by an expletive, is ruled out in the syntax, whereasambiguous control (e.g. Jules,- a demande a Jim,- de ,y,partir and unrealised potential control(e.g. Jules a promis a Jim; de •Jpartir/Jules1- a ordonne a Jim de «,partir) are determinedby the lexical entry of the respective (matrix) control predicate. These observationsprepare the ground for the theoretical discussion in the following two chapters.Chapter 3 looks at GPSG, analysing control as a semantically-driven syntactic processmediated by the Control Agreement Principle (CAP) rather than an intrinsicallysyntactic phenomenon. Chapter 4 considers UCG in general, then FDP and FG inparticular. Here, control is analysed as the result of the unification of the implicitsubject of the embedded infinitive with either the subject or (prepositional) object ofthe matrix predicate. The locality constraints operative on control are thus a naturalconsequence of the impossibility of unifying the embedded subject with anythingwhich the matrix predicate does not subcategorise for. Some of the problemsinherent in FDP, e.g. ordering and lexical ambiguity, are discussed within thecontext of FG where solutions are also proposed. A number of the author'sconclusions are drawn together in chapter 5.Given the nature of this work, i.e. the consideration of a particular phenomenonfrom two different but related theoretical syntactic perspectives, perhaps the mostdisappointing aspect of Baschung's book is the lack of comparison and contrastiveevaluation. (What there is is contained within the ten pages of chapter 5.) While107Journal of French Language Studiesrecognising the difficulty inherent in attempting to compare an implemented model(UCG) with an as yet unimplemented one (GPSG), it is a pity, I think, that the authordwells on an issue on which both GPSG and UCG take the same stand, i.e. thesyntactic/semantic status of embedded argumental infinitives. For, althoughGovernment-Binding theory - which is not considered here - analyses embeddedinfinitives as clauses, i.e. as syntactic Ss and, implicitly, as semantic propositions,both GPSG and UCG view these constituents as predicates, i.e. as syntactic VPs andas semantic properties. This reservation notwithstanding, the obvious attraction ofthis work is that it offers a much-needed introduction, in French, to two contempo-rary models of Unification Grammar which is at the forefront of current research inmathematical and computational linguistics.To conclude, this is a work which will be of interest not just to French syntacticiansbut also to IT specialists looking at natural language modelling. It is thorough in itsapproach and not surprisingly highly technical. Not for the faint-hearted!REFERENCESGross, M. (1975). Methodes en Syntaxe. Regime des constructions completives. Paris:Hermann.Le Goffic, P. & N. Combe McBride (1975). Les Constructionsfondamentales duFrancais, Le Franqais dans le Monde, BELC. Paris: Hachette-Larousse.Paul RowlettDepartment of Modem LanguagesUniversity ofSatford(Received 29 September 1992)Battye, Adrian and Hintze, Marie-Anne, The French Language Today. London andNew York: Routledge, 1992, x + 374 pp. 0 415 07814 8This book, which is intended primarily for the benefit of undergraduate students ofFrench, is an attempt to apply the techniques of modern linguistics to the Frenchlanguage.Chapter 1 deals with the geographical distribution of French and the externalhistory of French from the breakup of the Roman Empire to the present day; Chapter2 describes the sound system of French in minute detail; Chapter 3 centres on theinternal structure of the word in French; Chapter 4 is concerned with the sentencestructure of French; and Chapter 5 focuses on the geographical and social diversity ofFrench. The book is rounded off with two appendices ('Dialects and RegionalLanguages' and 'French in the World'), a select bibliography of academic writings, alist of articles published in L'Express, Le Nouvel Observateur and Le Monde and asix-page subject index.What Battye and Hintze provide is both a thorough introduction to the Frenchlanguage system and a frame of reference for defining and analysing universallinguistic phenomena. Thus detailed descriptions of various aspects of the Frenchlanguage frequently alternate with brief forays into subjects such as the physicalproduction of speech sounds, the distinction between inflectional and derivationalmorphology, the heterogeneity of adverbs or tense and temporal reference.108

Review of Karine Baschung (1991) Grammaires d’unification à traits et contrôle des infinitives en français. (Langues naturelles et traitement de l’information, vol. 2. Clermont–Ferrand: Adosa.)

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Karine Baschung, Grammaires d'unification à traits et contrôle des infinitives en français. Clermont-Ferrand: Editions Adosa, 1991, 303 pp. + appendices. 2 86639 007 5

Les Constructionsfondamentales du Francais, Le Franqais dans le Monde,

Methodes en Syntaxe. Regime des constructions completives.

The French Language Today. London and

https://salford-repository.worktribe.com/file/1455456/1/JFLS_download_containing_review_of_Baschung_1991.pdf

Review of Karine Baschung (1991) Grammaires d’unification à traits et contrôle des infinitives en français. (Langues naturelles et traitement de l’information, vol. 2. Clermont–Ferrand: Adosa.)

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