Inflectional paradigms
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Inflectional paradigms are not used in case of non-inflectional words (such as adverbs) or words that are already inflected (such as personal pronouns). Inflectional paradigms are also avoided in case of irregular behaviour, which is described by [[inflectional rules]]. | Inflectional paradigms are not used in case of non-inflectional words (such as adverbs) or words that are already inflected (such as personal pronouns). Inflectional paradigms are also avoided in case of irregular behaviour, which is described by [[inflectional rules]]. | ||
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| + | == What is to be included inside an inflectional paradigm == | ||
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| + | Inflectional paradigms must include '''only affixes''' (prefixes, infixes or suffixes) to the base form. Compound forms, such as those involving auxiliary words and other periphrastic constructions, must be defined as [[subcategorization frames]] and not as inflectional paradigms. | ||
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| + | Accordingly, the simple past and the simple present must be included into the inflectional paradigms for English verbs, but the compound tenses (past perfect, past progressive, future, etc) must be defined inside a subcategorization frame, because involve the insertion of new words that play different syntactic roles and may not be contiguous to the base form (the negation, for instance, comes between the auxiliary verb and the main verb, as in ''I will not work''). | ||
== Reference == | == Reference == | ||
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;IRREGULAR | ;IRREGULAR | ||
: If the word is inflectional but does not follow any existing paradigm, as in irregular forms (such as "man", "mouse", "foot" and "child"). In this case, the corresponding inflectional rules should be provided as [[inflectional rules]]. | : If the word is inflectional but does not follow any existing paradigm, as in irregular forms (such as "man", "mouse", "foot" and "child"). In this case, the corresponding inflectional rules should be provided as [[inflectional rules]]. | ||
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| + | == Syntax == | ||
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| + | Inflectional paradigms and inflectional rules are expressed by [[A-rule]]s, a special formalism for introducing prefixes, infixes and suffixes to the base form. | ||
== Examples == | == Examples == | ||
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|use>used, arrange>arranged, etc | |use>used, arrange>arranged, etc | ||
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Revision as of 12:23, 20 March 2010
Inflectional paradigms are sets of rules used to generate the inflected forms out of the base form.
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When to use inflectional paradigms
Inflectional paradigms are used in case of regular inflective behaviour, i.e., whenever there can be stated a regular pattern for inflecting words, such as nouns, adjectives and verbs.
When not to use inflectional paradigms
Inflectional paradigms are not used in case of non-inflectional words (such as adverbs) or words that are already inflected (such as personal pronouns). Inflectional paradigms are also avoided in case of irregular behaviour, which is described by inflectional rules.
What is to be included inside an inflectional paradigm
Inflectional paradigms must include only affixes (prefixes, infixes or suffixes) to the base form. Compound forms, such as those involving auxiliary words and other periphrastic constructions, must be defined as subcategorization frames and not as inflectional paradigms.
Accordingly, the simple past and the simple present must be included into the inflectional paradigms for English verbs, but the compound tenses (past perfect, past progressive, future, etc) must be defined inside a subcategorization frame, because involve the insertion of new words that play different syntactic roles and may not be contiguous to the base form (the negation, for instance, comes between the auxiliary verb and the main verb, as in I will not work).
Reference
The paradigms are referred as follows:
- by its common name (such as "first declension", "first group"), in case of well-established reference;
- by the rule itself, in case of single-rule paradigms;
- by the most distinctive rule, if any; or
- by a "leading form", i.e., a typical example (a prototype) representative of the whole category, otherwise.
There are two predefined paradigms in the UNLarium:
- INVARIANT
- If the word is not inflectional (case of adverbs in English, for instance) or does not accept any inflectional variant (case of "clothes", used only in plural, or "species", that has the same form in singular and plural). In this latter case, the field "Descriptive Morphology" should explicit the value of the lemma.
- IRREGULAR
- If the word is inflectional but does not follow any existing paradigm, as in irregular forms (such as "man", "mouse", "foot" and "child"). In this case, the corresponding inflectional rules should be provided as inflectional rules.
Syntax
Inflectional paradigms and inflectional rules are expressed by A-rules, a special formalism for introducing prefixes, infixes and suffixes to the base form.
Examples
| Name | Rules | Description | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| PLR:=0>"s" | PLR:=0>"s" | Add "s" to the end of the form | table>tables, boy>boys, etc |
| PLR:="y">"ies" | PLR:="y">"ies" | Replace "y" by "ies" at the end of the form | baby>babies, city>cities, etc |
| PLR:="f">"ves" | PLR:="f">"ves" | Replace "f" by "ves" at the end of the form | wolf>wolves, half>halves, etc |
| PAS:=0>"ed" | PAS:=0>"ed";GER:=0>"ing";PTP:=0>"ed";3PS&PRS&IND:=0>"s"; | Add "ed" in the simple past, "ing" in the gerund, ... | work>worked, ask>asked, etc |
| PAS:=0>"d" | PAS:=0>"d";GER:=e>"ing";PTP:=0>"d";3PS&PRS&IND:=0>"s"; | Add "d" in the simple past, replace the final "e" by "ing" in the gerund, ... | use>used, arrange>arranged, etc |
