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    Lexical-Functional Grammar

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    Cseh Gyöngyi
    Lexical Functional Grammar (LFG) represents sentences using two levels of structure: constituent structure (c-structure) and functional structure (f-structure). C-structure represents phrase structure using trees, while f-structure encodes grammatical relations using attribute-value pairs. F-structure is the input to semantic interpretation. C-structure and f-structure are connected through functional annotations on nodes in c-structure. F-structures must satisfy conditions of uniqueness, completeness, and coherence. LFG was developed in the 1970s and provides a formal framework for representing syntactic information in a language.

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    Lexical-Functional Grammar

    Uploaded by

    Cseh Gyöngyi
    127 views7 pages
    Lexical Functional Grammar (LFG) represents sentences using two levels of structure: constituent structure (c-structure) and functional structure (f-structure). C-structure represents phrase structure using trees, while f-structure encodes grammatical relations using attribute-value pairs. F-structure is the input to semantic interpretation. C-structure and f-structure are connected through functional annotations on nodes in c-structure. F-structures must satisfy conditions of uniqueness, completeness, and coherence. LFG was developed in the 1970s and provides a formal framework for representing syntactic information in a language.

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    Lexical Functional Grammar (LFG) represents sentences using two levels of structure: constituent structure (c-structure) and functional structure (f-structure). C-structure represents phrase structure using trees, while f-structure encodes grammatical relations using attribute-value pairs. F-structure is the input to semantic interpretation. C-structure and f-structure are connected through functional annotations on nodes in c-structure. F-structures must satisfy conditions of uniqueness, completeness, and coherence. LFG was developed in the 1970s and provides a formal framework for representing syntactic information in a language.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    127 views7 pages

    Lexical-Functional Grammar

    Uploaded by

    Cseh Gyöngyi
    Lexical Functional Grammar (LFG) represents sentences using two levels of structure: constituent structure (c-structure) and functional structure (f-structure). C-structure represents phrase structure using trees, while f-structure encodes grammatical relations using attribute-value pairs. F-structure is the input to semantic interpretation. C-structure and f-structure are connected through functional annotations on nodes in c-structure. F-structures must satisfy conditions of uniqueness, completeness, and coherence. LFG was developed in the 1970s and provides a formal framework for representing syntactic information in a language.

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    of 7

    Gyngyi Cseh 1

    Lexical Functional Grammar


    Oral Presentation by
    Gyngyi Cseh

    Lexical Functional Grammar (LFG) was developed in the late 1970s by Joan Bresnan and Ron
    Kaplan.
    Organization oI the grammar












    The lexical-Iunctional grammar determines two levels oI syntactic description to every sentence oI a
    language. Phrase structure conIigurations are represented in a .4nstituent stru.ture. A constituent
    structure or 'c-structure is a conventional phrase structure tree that indicates the arrangement oI
    words and phrases in the sentence. Grammatical Iunctions are presented at the other level oI
    description, called fun.ti4nal stru.ture. Functional structure or 'I-structure provides a
    characterization oI syntactic notions as subject, object, complement and adjunct. The I-structure is
    the sole input to the semantic component. Lexical-Iunctional grammar adopts a version oI X`-
    Theory.

    Constituent structure (c-structure)
    -structures characterize phrasal and sentential syntax such as verb phrase, noun phrase,
    etc.) . It can be derived by phrase structure rules:
    a. $ NP VP (A sentence consists oI a noun phrase Iollowed by a verb phrase.)
    E.g.:
    NP VP
    girl handed the baby a t4y.


    Gyngyi Cseh


    b. NP DET N (A noun phrase consists oI a determiner Iollowed by a noun.)
    E.g.:
    DET N
    girl

    c. VP V NP (A verb phrase consist oI a verb Iollowed by a noun phrase.)
    E.g.:
    V NP NP
    handed the baby a t4y

    Eg girl handed the baby a t4y.`

    S: sentence
    NP: noun phrase
    VP: verb phrase
    DET: determiner
    N: noun
    V: verb




    unctional structures (f-structure)
    Functional structure encodes its meaningIul grammatical relations and provides suIIicient
    inIormation Ior the semantic component. The I-structure indicates that the girl NP is the
    grammatical subject, handed is the semantic predicate, the baby NP is the grammatical object,
    and t4y is the second grammatical object. The I-structure represents this inIormation as a set oI
    ordered pairs oI each which consists oI an attribute (subject, object, predicate, tense, case,
    number, person etc.) and that attribute`s value Ior this sentence.
    There are three types oI values:
    a. Simple symb4ls: SG, PAST, etc.
    b. Semanti. f4rms (govern the process oI semantic interpretation): TOY`, GIRL`,
    HAND ((SUBJ) ( OBJ) (OBJ))`, etc.
    c. f-stru.tures (sets oI ordered pairs representing complexes oI internal Iunctions):
    NUM SG, PERSON 3, PRED TOY`, etc.
    Gyngyi Cseh 3


    E.g.: ' girl handed the baby a t4y`











    SUBJ-Subject:
    SPE (speciIier): A symbols
    NUM (number): SG (the grammatical number oI the word- singular)
    PRED (abstract predicate): GIRL` Its values are semantic Iorms. Semantic Iorms arise in
    the lexicon.

    TENSE attribute has the symbol value: PAST
    PRED-Predicate:
    HAND ((SUBJ) ( OBJ) (OBJ))`
    Arguments oI the three-place predicate HAND (agent:girl, theme:toy and goal:baby)

    Hand is Iollowed by an argument list, which deIine a mapping between the logical arguments
    and the grammatical Iunctions oI I-structure.

    ) Well-formedness conditions on f-structures

    There are three main well-Iormedness conditions on I-structures. These are known as the
    conditions oI
    - Functional Uniqueness
    - ompleteness and
    - oherence

    Gyngyi Cseh


    Uniqueness: In a given I-structure, a particular attribute may have at most one value. This
    condition describes an I-structure by the values oI the grammatical Iunctions oI which it is
    composed.
    S:1

    (f
    1
    SUBJ) f

    f
    1
    f
    3

    NP: VP:3

    A girl handed the baby a toy (sentence) f
    1

    A girl (NP) f


    handed the baby a toy (VP) f
    3


    a. the SUBJ oI f
    1
    f
    2
    b. the SPE oI f
    2
    A
    c. the NUM oI f
    2
    SG
    d. the PRED oI f
    2
    GIRL`

    F-structure is a mathematical Iunction that represents the grammatical Iunctions oI a sentence.
    E.g.
    the NUM oI f
    2
    SG

    a. The Iunction oI f
    2
    is such that applying it to the argument NUM yields the value SG.
    b. f
    2
    (NUM) SG

    ompleteness: An I-structure is l4.ally .4mplete iI and only iI it contains all the governable
    grammatical Iunctions that its predicate governs. An I-structure is .4mplete iI and only iI it and all
    its subsidiary I-structures are locally complete.

    oherence: An I-structure is l4.ally .4herent iI and only iI all the governable grammatical Iunctions
    that it contains are governed by a local predicate. An I-structure is .4herent iI and only iI it and all
    its subsidiary I-structures are locally coherent.

    ) The relation between .897:.9:708 and 1897:.9:708

    -structures carry inIormation that is displayed in I-structure, and are annotated with fun.ti4nal
    s.hemata, which indicate how the Iunctional inIormation contained on a node in the syntax
    Gyngyi Cseh

    participates in the I-structure.

    $entence rule is annotated in the Iollowing way:
    S NP VP
    ( SUBJ)

    S node
    mother node
    ( SUBJ)
    NP VP

    The Iunctional inIormation carried by the NP and the VP. The NP`s I-structure goes into the SUBJ
    part oI the mother`s I-structure (S`s I-structure). VP`s I-structure is direct inIormation about the
    mother`s I-structure (S`s I-structure). NP is the subject. VP is the Iunctional head ().

    The up- and down-arrows (' and ') reIer to the I-structure that corresponds to the c-structure
    node built by the rule. The 'up reIers to the I-structure oI the mother node and the 'down reIers to
    the I-structure oI the node itselI.

    The VP-rule

    VP V (NP) (NP) (PP) (S`)
    ( OBJ) ( OBJ) ( ( ASE) ( OMP)
    VP can contain a verb then a NP that is the OBJ (direct object), then a second object OBJ.
    There can be any number oI PPs (prepositional phrases) and there can be an optional S` constituent
    which bears the OMP (complement)

    The NP-rule
    NP (Det) N (PP)
    ( ADJUNT)
    E.g.: 'the man asleep at the wheel`
    NP contains an optional determiner, a noun and may also contain a PP ADJUNT (such as relative
    clause, adjectival modiIier).
    The PP-rule
    PP P NP
    ( OBJ)
    Gyngyi Cseh



    E.g.: 'She flew t4 the m44n.`

    S: sentence
    NP: noun phrase
    VP: verb phrase
    PP: prepositional phrase
    N: noun
    V: verb
    P: preposition
    Det: determiner
    OBL
    GO
    : oblique goal







    S:1

    (f
    1
    SUBJ) f

    f
    1
    f
    3

    NP: VP:3

    f
    1
    She Ilew to the moon - S (sentence)
    f

    She (NP)
    f
    3
    Ilew to the moon. (VP)


    She`
    PERS: person
    NUM: number
    GEN: gender
    ASE: case
    PRED: predicate



    f
    1
    -structure
    f

    -structure
    f
    3
    -structure
    Gyngyi Cseh 7



    flew t4 the m44n`

    OBL
    GO
    : oblique goal
    A: accusative case
    DEF: deIinite













    Resources:
    Bresnan, J.&R.M. Kaplan: 'Lexical-Iunctional grammar: a Iormal system Ior grammatical
    representation. Bresnan, J. (ed.): The mental representati4n 4f grammati.al relati4ns. ambridge,
    Mass: MIT Press 198.
    Sells, P.: Lectures on contemporary syntactic theories. StanIord: SLI Publications 198.

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