Phrase Structure Rules

II

What do all these trees do?

• help construct structure...

• guide interpretation...

PP

The dwarf saw the gnome in the garden

NP

VNP

S

?

?VP‘PP Attachment’

Two structures: two meanings

PP

The dwarf saw the gnome in the garden

NP

VNP

S

VP‘PP Attachment’

Two structures: two meanings

it was the gnome who was seen in the garden

the gnome was seen in the garden

in the garden the dwarf saw the gnome

PP

The dwarf saw the gnome in the garden

NP

VNP

S

VP‘PP Attachment’

Two structures: two meanings

it was the gnome in the garden who was seen

the gnome in the garden was seen

?? the gnome in the garden the dwarf saw

The gnome in the garden is sad

The gnome in the garden is saddet

NP

N

NP

det

VP

S

PP

prep

What rule???

N

The gnome in the garden is saddet

NP

N

NP

det

VP

S

PP

prep

N

The gnome in the garden is saddet

NP

N

NP

det

VP

S

PP

prep

N

Syntactic Rules

What do all these trees do?

• help construct structure...

• guide interpretation...

• guide functional interpretation...

The small gnome wiped his hands on the hill

adjdet

NP

N

NP

det

VP

S

verb

PP

prepN

NP

det

Grammatical Functions

N

Process

Participants

Circumstances

ideational

VPS

verb

Grammatical Functions

Participants

Process

Circumstances

ideational

The small gnome wiped his hands on the hill

adjdet

NP

N

NP

det

VP

S

verb

PP

prepN

NP

det

Grammatical Functions

N

Subject

Finite

interpersonal

VPS

verb

Grammatical Functions

SubjectFinite

interpersonal

ParticipantProcess

The small gnome on the hill wiped his hands

adjdet

NP

N

NP

det

VP

S

verb

PPprep

N

NP

detN

SubjectFinite

Bottom line:

functional interpretation depends on tree geometry

IC-analysis(immediate constituency

analysis)

I saw the gnome in the garden

NP

D NVN

NP

S

VP

PP

IC-analysis+

Functions

I saw the gnome in the garden

NP

D NVN

NP

S

VP

PP

Subject

IC-analysis+

Functions

I saw the gnome in the garden

NP

D NVN

NP

S

VP

PPParticipant

Participant

Circumstance

Process

Compositional Semantics

Semantics

How to put meanings together from the parts...

43

+ -

×

5 2×

4

(3 + 4) × (5 - 2 x 4) = ? COMPOSITIONAL

SEMANTICS

43

+ -

×

5 2×

4

(3 + 4) × (5 - 2 x 4) = ?

43

+ -

×

5 2×

4

(3 + 4) × (5 - 2 x 4) = ?

43

+ -

×

5 2×

4

(3 + 4) × (5 - 2 x 4) = ?

43

+ -

×

5 2×

4

(3 + 4) × (5 - 2 x 4) = ?

43

+ -

×

5 2×

4

(3 + 4) × (5 - 2 x 4) = ?

Compositional Semantics

Semantics

Syntax trees work in exactly the same way!!

The dog

noundet

NP VP

S

chased

verb

the boydet

NPnoun

The dog

noundet

NP VP

S

chased

verb

the boydet

NPnoun

we are talking about

some class of objects

that are describable

as dogsThe dog

noundet

NP

we are talking

about an object that

I expect you to be

able to identify The dog

noundet

NP

we are talking about some particular dog that I expect you to be able

to identify

we are talking about

some class of objects

that are describable

as dogs

we are talking

about an object that

I expect you to be

able to identify The dog

noundet

NP

The dog

noundet

NPVP

S

chased

verb

the boydet

NPnoun

‘the-boy’

The dog

noundet

NPVP

S

chased

verb

the boydet

NPnoun

‘the-boy’

?

we are talking about s.o. chasing X

we are talking about

something, call it X

s.o. chases s.t.

chase

NPV

VP

The dog

noundet

NPVP

S

chased

verb

the boydet

NPnoun

‘the-boy’

s.o. chased s.t.s.t. = the-boy

The dog

noundet

NPVP

S

chased

verb

the boydet

NPnoun

s.o. chased the-boy

The dog

noundet

NPVP

S

chased

verb

the boydet

NPnoun

s.o. chased the-boy

s.o. chased the-boys.o. = the-dog

‘the-dog’

The dog

noundet

NPVP

S

chased

verb

the boydet

NPnoun

‘the-boy’

s.o. chased s.t.s.t. = the-boy

s.o. chased the-boys.o. = the-dog

‘the-dog’

Structural ambiguity entails semantic ambiguity...

The dog

noundet

NP

the garden

noun

NPdet

in

PP

prep

VP

S

chased

verb

the boy

noundet

NP

The dog

noundet

NP

the garden

noun

NPdet

in

PP

prep

VP

S

chased

verb

the boy

noundet

NP

s.o. chased s.t. s.t. = the-boy

The dog

noundet

NP

the garden

noun

NPdet

in

PP

prep

VP

S

chased

verb

the boy

noundet

NP

the chasing was somewheresomewhere = in-the-garden

The dog

noundet

NP

the garden

noun

NPdet

in

PP

prep

VP

S

chased

verb

the boy

noundet

NP

s.o. chased s.t. s.t. = the-boy

the chasing was somewheresomewhere = in-the-garden

The dog

noundet

NP

the garden

noun

NPdet

in

PP

prep

VP

S

chased

verb

the boy

noundet

NP

The dog

noundet

NP

the garden

noun

NPdet

in

PP

prep

VP

S

chased

verb

the boy

noundet

NP

The dog

noundet

NP

the garden

noun

NPdet

in

PP

prep

VP

S

chased

verb

the boy

noundet

NP

the boy was somewheresomewhere = in-the-garden

The dog

noundet

NP

the garden

noun

NPdet

in

PP

prep

VP

S

chased

verb

the boy

noundet

NP

s.o. chased s.t. s.t. = ?

the boy was somewheresomewhere = in-the-garden

The dog

noundet

NP

the garden

noun

NPdet

in

PP

prep

VP

S

chased

verb

the boy

noundet

NP

s.o. chased s.t. s.t. = the-boy-in-the-garden

the boy was somewheresomewhere = in-the-garden