LINGUIST List 17.3544
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Thu Nov 30 2006
Diss: Morphology/Syntax/Computational Ling: Gurevich: 'Construction...'
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Directory
1. Olga
Gurevich,
Constructional Morphology: The Georgian version
Message 1: Constructional Morphology: The Georgian version
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Date: 30-Nov-2006
From: Olga Gurevich <olyaberkeley.edu>
Subject: Constructional Morphology: The Georgian version
Institution: University of California, Berkeley
Program: Department of Linguistics
Dissertation Status: Completed
Degree Date: 2006
Author: Olya Gurevich
Dissertation Title: Constructional Morphology: The Georgian version
Dissertation URL: http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~olya/papers.htm
Linguistic Field(s):
Computational Linguistics
Linguistic Theories
Morphology
Syntax
Subject Language(s): Georgian (kat)
Dissertation Director:
James P Blevins
Sharon Inkelas
Johanna Nichols
Eve E Sweetser
Dissertation Abstract:
Linguistic theories can be distinguished based on how they represent the
construction of linguistic structures. In 'bottom-up' models, meaning is
carried by small linguistic units, from which the meaning of larger
structures is derived. By contrast, in 'top-down' models the smallest units
of form need not be individually meaningful; larger structures may
determine their overall meaning and the selection of their parts. Many
recent developments in psycholinguistics provide empirical support for the
latter view.
This study combines intuitions from Construction Grammar and
Word-and-Paradigm morphology to develop the framework of Constructional
Morphology. The proposed framework provides mechanisms for describing the
full range of regular, sub-regular and irregular patterns in languages with
rich morphology and complex morphosyntax.
The thesis argues that morphological and morphosyntactic patterns should be
described using generalized form-meaning pairings (constructions), which
include semantic, syntactic, and morphological information in the same
statements. This top down approach also resolves some long-standing issues
in computational morphology.
The theoretical framework is illustrated through an analysis of Georgian
morphosyntax with a particular focus on version, originally a
morphosyntactic marker of participant affectedness or salience. Version
represents a case of mismatch between form and function: the same
morphological resources can mark participant affectedness in some
constructions and unrelated categories in other contexts, such as voice,
tense, and conjugation class. The syntactic function of version markers is
in some contexts akin to an applicative, elevating an affected participant
to a syntactic core argument, while in other instances they make no
syntactic contribution.
The theoretical framework, developed to capture the recurrent patterns of
Georgian morphosyntax, is also applicable to general morphosyntactic
description. An examination of version-like phenomena in several other
languages reveals that their description also depends on the larger
constructions of the particular language and should therefore be done in
the same 'top-down' approach.
The thesis concludes by exploring the consequences of Georgian-type
patterns for computational linguistics, which has traditionally assumed
straight compositionality. A computational model is proposed for parsing
and generating Georgian verbal inflections based on example paradigms and
constructions at various degrees of generality.
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