Distribution

Revision as of 15:23, 23 March 2010

Distribution (or word order) refers to the study of the order of the syntactic constituents of a language.

Natural Language

In the UNLarium framework, the distribution must be informed through s-rules, except in case of exceptional (non-default) cases, to be registered in the dictionary by the following values:

Examples

• Order
  • very = BEF - In English, the intensifier "very" is a premodifier: He is very rich (He is rich very)
  • well = AFT - In English, the adverb of manner "well" is a postmodifier: He speaks well (He well speaks)
  • yesterday = FRE - In English, the adverb of time "yesterday" may come either before or after the modified: Now I go or I go now.
• Adjacency
  • the = FAR (In English, the article "the" has no precedence over other modifiers: the small round black leather handbag (small the round black leather handbag).
  • after (in "look after") = IMM (In English, the preposition after must come right after the base form "come" in order to form the compound "look after": We look after them (We look them after)

Observations

The distribution of words must be informed in the dictionary only if variable.

The field "distribution" must be filled in only if different words of the same category may occur in different positions

Adverbs, in English, may be premodifiers or postmodifiers. Therefore, distribution of adverbs must be informed in the dictionary.

Articles, in English, are always premodifiers. Therefore, distribution of articles must not be informed in the dictionary.

The distribution of words must be informed in the dictionary only if not the default one.

The grammar brings the normal (default) distribution of the words in a language. Only exceptions to the rule must be informed in the dictionary.

Adjectives, in English, are normally premodifiers. Therefore, distribution of premodifier adjectives (such as "beautiful") must not be informed in the dictionary. On the other hand, free order adjectives (such as "possible": "it is the only solution possible" or "it is the only possible solution") must be tagged, in the dictionary, with the corresponding feature (FRE).

Middle position should be used only for words to be inserted inside others (i.e., between the prefix and the root, or the root and the suffix).

Adverbs coming between auxiliaries and verbs must be defined as premodifiers.

Distribution values are not exclusive

BEF&AFT means that the word may occur both as a premodifier or as postmodifier;

BEF&MID means that the word may occur both as a premodifier or as a middle modifier.

Order and adjacency may be combined to express specific distributions

BEF&IMM means that the word occurs right before the modified (as with English intensifiers)

Order must be informed only when required

English intensifiers must come right before the intensified ("very well"), therefore BEF&IMM;

Adverbs of manner normally comes after the complements ("She read the letter slowly"), therefore "AFT&FAR";

UNL

Word order is not informed in UNL.