1. 1 Word order without phrases (Introduction to Word Grammar) Richard Hudson Budapest, March 2012

2. 2 Plan 1.Dependency or phrase structure? 2.Rich dependencies 3.Word order, dependencies and landmarks 4.Default inheritance 5.Landmark raising and lowering 6.Pied-piping 7.Conclusion

3. 3 1. Dependency or phrase structure? A phrase-structure analysis: Small children use short sentences. short sentences use short sentences small children Small children use short sentences

4. 4 A dependency structure Small children use short sentences. 'stemma' notation (Tesnière) subject adjunct object 'arrow' notation (Word Grammar)

5. 5 History and geography Phrase structure –Since 1930 –USA (Bloomfield – Chomsky) Dependency structure –Since at least 9 th Century? –Europe+ –Basis for most school grammar

6. 6 Why phrase structure? Why not recognise direct word-word relations? –academic tradition in the USA Cognitively, this restriction is very implausible. –Compare social structure!

7. 7 For example, a kinship network me Colin Gaynor Gretta Lucy brother mother son husband wife Peter daughter son grandson

8. 8 Moreover, words are like other actions Actions aim to solve problems –and sub-problems and sub-problems of sub-problems Notice: –asymmetrical relations ('dependencies') –ordering in time

9. 9 open the door turn the key remove the key find the key insert the key Opening a door

10. 10 Task: Say that small babies cry. –Solution: Say cry, but specify 'small babies'. Sub-task: Specify 'small babies'? –Solution: Add babies before, but specify 'small'. Sub-task: Specify 'small'? –Solution: Add small. cry babiessmall Dependents as sub-solutions

11. 11 2. Rich dependencies Relations among words are too rich for stemma notation because of: Interdependencies –impossible in phrase structure Multiple dependencies

12. 12 Interdependencies Consider: Who came? Who depends (as subject) on came. But came depends (as complement) on who. –I wonder who/*he came. –Someone came. I wonder who. Who came? subject complement

13. 13 Multiple dependencies: raising Consider: It was raining. It depends (as subject) on was. But it also depends (as subject) on raining. –RAIN selects it as its subject. It was raining. subject predicate Has no effect on word order.

14. 14 3. Word order and dependencies Dependencies typically restrict word order e.g. children play, not: *play children. But some dependencies have no effect on word order e.g. It (was) raining. subject

15. 15 How to model word order mentally In our minds, there is no left-right order. –Mental space is just a network. Order (in place or in time) is a relation. –e.g. 'before' or 'after' Order relates: –a 'trajector' (subordinate) –to its 'landmark' (superior) Langacker

16. 16 Landmarks and sub-tasks In general we solve sub-tasks before returning to the super-task So a sub-task's landmark is the super-task So the sub-task takes its position from the super-task –so sub-tasks stay next to their super-task.

17. 17 Similarly with words A word's landmark is the word on which it depends (its 'parent') –i.e. its 'super-task' So a word stays next to its parent. Hence: 'phrasal glue'

18. 18 Phrasal glue Good: I like red wine. Bad: *I red like wine. Why? –Because red isn't next to its landmark, wine. –Shown by crossing lines.

19. 19 Typical dependencies match landmarks. A B These dependencies are above the words. Others are below the words. x Notation for landmarks dependent landmark

20. 20 It was raining. What do you think we should do? Two examples subject predicate 'surface structure' 'deep structure'

21. 21 Summary so far A word has one parent – but: roots have no parent – and: raised, extracted words have >1 parent A word's parent is its landmark –but: if a word has >1 parent, only one is its landmark. –this is 'raised', i.e. the highest parent.

22. 22 4. Default inheritance Every concept is in an 'is-a' hierarchy –e.g. penguin is-a bird is-a creature is-a ….. By default, properties are inherited from higher concepts. But exceptions are allowed. –e.g. A bird flies. –BUT: A penguin doesn't fly. –x–x

23. 23 Exceptional words may … reverse the default order –e.g. are they for they are have a non-landmark parent –e.g. it … raining have a 'lowered' landmark have a parent but no landmark x

24. 24 Reversing the default order An English word's dependent is after it. A verb's subject is before it. An interrogative auxiliary verb's subject is after it. is in London he is is he

25. 25 5. Landmark raising and lowering Landmark raising A B C Landmark lowering A B C winner

26. 26 Landmark lowering Landmarks are usually 'raised' –if: W has two parents P 1, P 2 –and P 1 depends on P 2 –then: W's landmark is P 2, not P 1 But there are exceptions Thanks to default inheritance.

27. 27 German Partial VP fronting Eine Concorde ist hier nie gelandet. A Concorde is here never landed Eine Concorde gelandet ist hier nie.

28. 28 6. Pied-piping e.g. With whom does he live? Whom is extracted to the front But whom depends on with –whom allows its parent to have no landmark –so it takes ('pied-pipes') with to the front. With whom does he live? Thanks to András Imrényi!

29. 29 Conclusions Word order can be predicted from: –dependency structure, plus –landmark structure, plus –default inheritance This is better than phrases because: –it gives enough flexibility for language data –it uses the full power of the human mind. –x–x

30. 30 Thank you This slideshow can be downloaded: www.phon.ucl.ac.ak/home/dick/talks.htm More on Word Grammar: www.phon.ucl.ac.ak/home/dick/wg.htm