Syntax 1 Wiki: Week 4: Difference between revisions

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== Looking under the hood ==


<span style="color: blue>Exercise</span>


=== Valence Properties of Verbs ===
Go to the [http://141.2.159.95:7001/wt/ Online Grammar] and do the following:


All verbs in English need to have a subject. But verbs differ from each in other in whether they need to have complements, how many complements they need, and what kinds of complements they are. All the elements which a verb (or a word of another part of speech) can occur with are called its '''arguments'''. The information about which arguments a word takes is referred to as the word's '''argument structure'''.
* Type "snores" into the ''Sentence'' textbox and press the "Parse" button or RETURN on your keyboard.
* Click once on the top node of the tree.
* Inspect the result and try to understand as much as possible.
* <p style="margin-bottom:0mm;">Now click on the boxed "0" after AGR.</p>
* Inspect the result and try to understand as much as possible.
* <p style="margin-bottom:0mm;">Finally, click on the boxed number below the NP in the SPR list.</p>
* Again, inspect the result and try to understand as much as possible.
* <p style="margin-bottom:0mm;">Click on the new boxed "0" after the AGR that appears.</p>
* Now there are two boxed "0"s on the screen. What seems to be their function?


Traditional Grammar already distinguishes between intransitive verbs like ''snore'' and transitive verbs like ''kiss''. An intransitive verb like ''snore'' thus has an ARG-ST list with just the subject on it, i.e. a list of length 1, whereas a transitive verb has a list containing its subject and its direct object, i.e. a list of length 2.
<span style="color: blue>Exercise</span>


Convince yourself that this is true by looking at these two verbs in one of our online grammars. Note that the ARG-ST list appears all the way at the bottom:  
Go to the [http://141.2.159.95:7001/wt/ Online Grammar] and do the following:


[http://141.2.159.95:7003/wt/ Argument Realization]
* Parse the sentence Lilly dances".
* Open the S node and the V node. Don't open any numbered boxes for now.
* Compare the two feature structures.
* For every feature (= attribute), compare the values of mother and daughter.
* Now open the N node, leaving its numbered boxes alone again.
* Compare the three feature structures. What relationships do you detect? Do the self-test exercises below.


Now we are going to do two exercises together:
<span style="color: blue>Self-test exercises</span>


We will look at a number of verbs in the Argument Realization Grammar. Their ARG-ST will be of different lengths.  
(1) <span style="color: blue>The part of speech features of the mother are also the part of speech features of</span>
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width:800px">
Check your answer
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
the verb.
</div>
</div><br>
 
(2) <span style="color: blue>The verb is looking for ______ complements.</span>
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width:800px">
Check your answer
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
no
</div>
</div><br>
 
(3) <span style="color: blue>The sentence is looking for ______ complement(s).</span>
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width:800px">
Check your answer
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
no
</div>
</div><br>
 
(4) <span style="color: blue>The verb is looking for ______ specifier(s).</span>
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width:800px">
Check your answer
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
one
</div>
</div><br>


# Your first task is to find a systematic relationship between the semantic relation that the verb expresses and its ARG-ST.
(5) <span style="color: blue>If the verb requires a specifier, then it selects a specifier of part of speech ________.</span>
# There is also a systematic relationship between the verb's ARG-ST and its three valence lists SUBJ, SPR, and COMPS.
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width:800px">
Check your answer
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
NP
</div>
</div><br>


To find the generalization, you might want to ask yourself the following questions:
(6) <span style="color: blue>The sentence is looking for ______ specifiers.</span>
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width:800px">
Check your answer
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
no
</div>
</div><br>


* What does the SPR list of verbs look like? Does it differ depending on the ARG-ST?
(7) <span style="color: blue>Formulate the relationship between the valences of S and V, and the relationship between the NP daughter and the V daughter.</span>
* What does the SUBJ list of verbs look like? How many elements are on it? Which element of the ARG-ST does the SUBJ realize?
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width:800px">
* What does the COMPS list look like? How many elements are on it? Where can you find those elements on the ARG-ST.
Check your answer
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
A. The verb is complement-empty and selects one NP-specifier.<br>
B. The NP acts as the verb's specifier.<br>
C. As the verb's specifier requirement has now been satisfied, its mother S has an empty SPR list (as well as an empty COMPS list).
</div>
</div><br>


== Head-Specifier Phrases ==


==== Homework for Week 5 ====
We can combine all the observations above into a Phrase Structure Rule. In short form, the rule can be formulated as follows:


1. Work through the following sections of the Wiki:<br>
(1) XP -> Specifier X


:  [[Grammatical_Functions|Grammatical Functions]]<br>
We call this kind of phrase a '''head-specifier phrase'''.


Instead of formulating the full-fledged PS rule, we look directly at the local tree that the rule licenses:


[[File:H-SPR phrase.PNG|400px]]<br>
In words: A head-specifier phrase can be formed by combining <i style="color:blue;">a sign</i> [= the head daughter] with <i style="color:blue;">a second sign</i> [= the specifier daughter] whose syntactic category can be unified with the syntactic category on the word’s SPR list. The mother and its head daughter are both COMPS-saturated (= have empty COMPS lists).


Comparing the tree in the online grammar with the tree above (the rule), you will notice that they aren't completely identical.


(2) <span style="color: blue>What does the rule contain that is missing from the tree?</span>
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width:800px">
Check your answer
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
The rule marks the righthand daughter as the '''head''' (= '''H''') and the lefthand daughter as a '''specifier''' (= '''SPR''').
</div>
</div><br>
(3) <span style="color: blue>What does the tree contain that is missing from the rule?</span>
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width:800px">
Check your answer
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
The tree contains the information that the mother node and the head have the same part of speech features.
</div>
</div><br>
== The Head Feature Principle ==
Let us deal with the second difference first. It will turn out that this will also take care of the first one.
Head-specifier phrases are not the only kind of phrase. We will soon see others. All phrases have one thing in common, however:
'''The Head Feature Principle (HFP)'''
The part of speech features of a phrase are also the part of speech features of its head daughter.
Formally, this is expressed as follows:
  '''The Head Feature Principle (formal)'''
[[File:HFP.PNG|300px]]
The formal version of the head feature principle is a '''constraint.''' Constraints are all of the form "If a feature structure F has a property A, then F is well formed only if F also has property B." The double arrow expresses the if-then.
Consequently, the constraint above says: if a feature structure F is a phrase, then F is well formed only if F's value for POS is also the value of POS of F's head daughter.
With this, we are ready to return to (3) in the previous section. Remember that we wanted to take care of the fact that the head-specifier rule lacks the information of the identity of head features of mother and head daughter. This problem is now solved: since head-specifier phrases are phrases, they are well formed only if their POS features are identical to the POS features of their head daughter.
The difference between the online grammar and the head-specifier rule thus is explained as follows: the online grammar shows the sum of information contained in the head specifier rue and the head feature principle!
The effect of the head feature principle shown in the online grammar also takes care of the observation (2) in the previous section. You can always tell which daughter of a phrase is its head daughter: it is the daughter which shares the phrase's POS features.
<span style="color: blue>Exercise</span>
Go to the <span class="newwin">[http://141.2.159.95:7001/wt/ Online Grammar]</span> and do the following:
* Parse the string "a cat".
* Click on the three category nodes.
* Interpret what you see.
== Head-Complement Phrases ==
<span style="color: blue>Exercise</span>
Go to the <span class="newwin">[http://141.2.159.95:7001/wt/ Online Grammar]</span> and do the following:
* Parse the string "likes lilly".
* Click on the three category nodes.
* Interpret what you see and answer the following questions.
(1) <span style="color: blue>Which daughter is the head daughter of the head-complement phrase?</span>
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width:800px">
Check your answer
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
the lefthand daughter
</div>
</div><br>
(2) <span style="color: blue>What is the valence relationship between the daughters of the head-complement phrase?</span>
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width:800px">
Check your answer
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
the head daughter selects the non-head daughter as a complement.
</div>
</div><br>
(3) <span style="color: blue>How are the COMPS valences of a head-complement phrase and its head daughter related?</span>
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width:800px">
Check your answer
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
The head daughter selects a complement, which is realized as its sister in the tree.<br>
The head-complement phrase is COMPS-saturated, since there are no further complements to be realized.
</div>
</div><br>
(4) <span style="color: blue>How are the SPR valences of a head-complement phrase and its head daughter related?</span>
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width:800px">
Check your answer
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
They are identical. The head-complement phrase selects the same specifiers as its head daughter.
</div>
</div><br>
<span style="color: blue>Exercise</span>
Based on the properties of head-complement phrases just discovered, draw a schematic non-local tree for head-complement phrases in the same format as was done for head-specifier phrases above.
Here is the solution:
<span style="color: blue>The Structure of Head-Complement Phrases</span>
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="width:800px">
Check your answer
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
[[File:H-C phrase 1.PNG|400px]]
</div>
</div><br>


<br>
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<div align="center">
  [[Syntax_1_Wiki |'''Main page''']]   [[Syntax_1_Wiki:_Week_1| '''Week 1''']]   [[Syntax_1_Wiki:_Week_2| '''Week 2''']] &nbsp;&nbsp; [[Syntax_1_Wiki:_Week_3| '''Week 3''']] &nbsp;&nbsp; Week4 &nbsp;&nbsp; [[Syntax_1_Wiki:_Week_5| '''Week 5''']] &nbsp;&nbsp; [[Syntax_1_Wiki:_Week_6| '''Week 6''']] &nbsp;&nbsp; Week7 &nbsp;&nbsp; Week8 &nbsp;&nbsp; Week9 &nbsp;&nbsp; Week10
  [[Syntax_1_Wiki |'''Main page''']] [[Syntax_1_Wiki:_Week_1| '''Week 1''']] [[Syntax_1_Wiki:_Week_2|'''Week 2''']] [[Syntax_1_Wiki:_Week_3|'''Week 3''']] '''Week 4''' [[Syntax_1_Wiki:_Week_5|'''Week 5''']] [[Syntax_1_Wiki:_Week_6|'''Week 6''']] [[Syntax_1_Wiki:_Week_7|'''Week 7''']] [[Syntax_1_Wiki:_Week_8|'''Week 8''']]
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<!-- |[[Phrases| '''Week 3''']]| '''Week 4'''|[[Syntax_1_Wiki:_Week_5| '''Week 5''']]|[[Syntax_1_Wiki:_Week_6| '''Week 6''']]| Week 7
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Latest revision as of 07:29, 12 July 2024

Looking under the hood

Exercise

Go to the Online Grammar and do the following:

  • Type "snores" into the Sentence textbox and press the "Parse" button or RETURN on your keyboard.
  • Click once on the top node of the tree.
  • Inspect the result and try to understand as much as possible.

  • Now click on the boxed "0" after AGR.

  • Inspect the result and try to understand as much as possible.

  • Finally, click on the boxed number below the NP in the SPR list.

  • Again, inspect the result and try to understand as much as possible.

  • Click on the new boxed "0" after the AGR that appears.

  • Now there are two boxed "0"s on the screen. What seems to be their function?

Exercise

Go to the Online Grammar and do the following:

  • Parse the sentence Lilly dances".
  • Open the S node and the V node. Don't open any numbered boxes for now.
  • Compare the two feature structures.
  • For every feature (= attribute), compare the values of mother and daughter.
  • Now open the N node, leaving its numbered boxes alone again.
  • Compare the three feature structures. What relationships do you detect? Do the self-test exercises below.

Self-test exercises

(1) The part of speech features of the mother are also the part of speech features of

Check your answer

the verb.


(2) The verb is looking for ______ complements.

Check your answer

no


(3) The sentence is looking for ______ complement(s).

Check your answer

no


(4) The verb is looking for ______ specifier(s).

Check your answer

one


(5) If the verb requires a specifier, then it selects a specifier of part of speech ________.

Check your answer

NP


(6) The sentence is looking for ______ specifiers.

Check your answer

no


(7) Formulate the relationship between the valences of S and V, and the relationship between the NP daughter and the V daughter.

Check your answer

A. The verb is complement-empty and selects one NP-specifier.
B. The NP acts as the verb's specifier.
C. As the verb's specifier requirement has now been satisfied, its mother S has an empty SPR list (as well as an empty COMPS list).


Head-Specifier Phrases

We can combine all the observations above into a Phrase Structure Rule. In short form, the rule can be formulated as follows:

(1) XP -> Specifier X

We call this kind of phrase a head-specifier phrase.

Instead of formulating the full-fledged PS rule, we look directly at the local tree that the rule licenses: 

H-SPR phrase.PNG

In words: A head-specifier phrase can be formed by combining a sign [= the head daughter] with a second sign [= the specifier daughter] whose syntactic category can be unified with the syntactic category on the word’s SPR list. The mother and its head daughter are both COMPS-saturated (= have empty COMPS lists).

Comparing the tree in the online grammar with the tree above (the rule), you will notice that they aren't completely identical.

(2) What does the rule contain that is missing from the tree?

Check your answer

The rule marks the righthand daughter as the head (= H) and the lefthand daughter as a specifier (= SPR).


(3) What does the tree contain that is missing from the rule?

Check your answer

The tree contains the information that the mother node and the head have the same part of speech features.


The Head Feature Principle

Let us deal with the second difference first. It will turn out that this will also take care of the first one.

Head-specifier phrases are not the only kind of phrase. We will soon see others. All phrases have one thing in common, however: 

The Head Feature Principle (HFP)
The part of speech features of a phrase are also the part of speech features of its head daughter.

Formally, this is expressed as follows: 

 The Head Feature Principle (formal) 
HFP.PNG

The formal version of the head feature principle is a constraint. Constraints are all of the form "If a feature structure F has a property A, then F is well formed only if F also has property B." The double arrow expresses the if-then.

Consequently, the constraint above says: if a feature structure F is a phrase, then F is well formed only if F's value for POS is also the value of POS of F's head daughter.

With this, we are ready to return to (3) in the previous section. Remember that we wanted to take care of the fact that the head-specifier rule lacks the information of the identity of head features of mother and head daughter. This problem is now solved: since head-specifier phrases are phrases, they are well formed only if their POS features are identical to the POS features of their head daughter.

The difference between the online grammar and the head-specifier rule thus is explained as follows: the online grammar shows the sum of information contained in the head specifier rue and the head feature principle!

The effect of the head feature principle shown in the online grammar also takes care of the observation (2) in the previous section. You can always tell which daughter of a phrase is its head daughter: it is the daughter which shares the phrase's POS features.

Exercise

Go to the Online Grammar and do the following:

  • Parse the string "a cat".
  • Click on the three category nodes.
  • Interpret what you see.

Head-Complement Phrases

Exercise

Go to the Online Grammar and do the following:

  • Parse the string "likes lilly".
  • Click on the three category nodes.
  • Interpret what you see and answer the following questions.

(1) Which daughter is the head daughter of the head-complement phrase?

Check your answer

the lefthand daughter


(2) What is the valence relationship between the daughters of the head-complement phrase?

Check your answer

the head daughter selects the non-head daughter as a complement.


(3) How are the COMPS valences of a head-complement phrase and its head daughter related?

Check your answer

The head daughter selects a complement, which is realized as its sister in the tree.
The head-complement phrase is COMPS-saturated, since there are no further complements to be realized.


(4) How are the SPR valences of a head-complement phrase and its head daughter related?

Check your answer

They are identical. The head-complement phrase selects the same specifiers as its head daughter.


Exercise

Based on the properties of head-complement phrases just discovered, draw a schematic non-local tree for head-complement phrases in the same format as was done for head-specifier phrases above.

Here is the solution:

The Structure of Head-Complement Phrases

Check your answer

H-C phrase 1.PNG





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