A Simpler Parsing Algorithm for Relative Clauses in

VietnameseTanmoy Bhattacharya Nguyen Chi Duy Khuong

tanmoy1@gmail.com khuongvn2000@yahoo.com

Department of Linguistics

University of Delhi

The Problem

Implementable formalisms (e.g. HPSG) have two problems with adjuncts:

identifying the adjunct (Recognition) determining the place the adjunct belongs (Addressing

Technique)

The paper highlights these problems and suggests a solution to get around it using RC theories of Principles & Parameters framework

Classic HPSG: The duality of representation

Problem in general: whether the adjunct is a functor or an argument

Proliferation features to produce a syntactic parse Head-Complement idea is conducive to HPSG as it is

easier to see complements as semantic arguments of their heads.

Broader range of categories modified Number of adjuncts is not pre-fixed

Pollard and Sag (1987): adjunct-main clause dependency determined by rules of grammar

Problem with the Classic HPSG

The solution rests on hierarchy of types/ subtypes (head-structure and head-adjunct-structure respectively)

Phraseqo

CLAUSALITY HEADEDNESSqo qoClause non-clause hd-ph non-hd-ph9 tu .. … rel-cl hd-adj-ph

HPSG schemata for solution that I like

PHON solution that I like HEAD 1

SYN | LOC SUBCAT 2LEX _

PHON solution

MAJ N

HEAD-DTR HEAD 1 NFORMNORM

ADJUNCTS <..3..> DTRS SYN|LOC

SUBCAT 2 DET

LEX _

PHON that I like ADJ-DTR SYN 3 RELCLAUSE

Revised HPSG

S[MOD N]

qoNP VP

[MOD N] wi NP V

[MOD N]

John-I chayk-ul neh-un -nom book-acc put-rel ‘The book that John put’

Sag (1995)

Highest V in RC need not show RC morphology

Watashi ga inu ga taberu ring-o miru I NOM dog NOM eats apple-ACC see

‘I see the apple which the dog eats.’

IP 3

watashi ga I’ 3 VP I

3 NP V

3 miru CP NP

6inuga taberu ringo

Similarly with Vietnamese

Sag (1995) Solution

BIND 0

word ARG-ST [SLASH 1 ], …, [SLASH n ] SLASH ( 1 ⊎ …⊎ 2 ) __ 0

who (relative)

CAT NP

CONT [INDEX 3]

REL { 3 }

QUE { }

Semantics of the Gap

I eat the apples which the men bought.

BUY

AGENT

THEME

Literal (MAN, PLURAL, DEFINITE)

relativewh

tense PAST

negative FALSE

question FALSE

voice ACTIVE

Linking the two clauses

AGENT

PATIENT

conversant (SING, +SPEAKER, -LISTENER, HUMAN_MASC)

relative (APPLE, PL, DEF, subclause0)

tense PRESENT

negative FALSE

question FALSE

voice ACTIVE