Universal Grammar (UG) / Language Instinct Phrase Structure • Data – native speakers’ i t iti ti k ’ intuitions ( (acceptability j d t bilit judgments) t ) • Resulting Theory of Grammar – words, phrases, categories for words and phrases (e. g. , Nouns, Verbs; Noun Phrases, Verb Phrases) (basic concepts any theory of grammar must have in order to capture the data) 1 2 Next: • The internal structure of phrases and how we can represent it.
• H How phrases are put t h t together to create th t t sentences. Phrase StructureMy very funny friend in Russia will go to Det Adv A N P N Aux V P a concert tomorrow. t t Det N Adv My very funny friend in Russia NP > Det AP N PP NP > (Det) (AP*) N (PP*) 3 4 Phrase Internal Structure • why (AP*): – My talented handsome funny friend A A A – My friend Phrase Internal Structure very funny AP> Mod A AP> (Mod) A (PP) • why (PP): – proud (of himself) • why (PP*): – My friend in Russia with a convertible PP PP – My friend 5 6 1 Phrase Internal Structure [in Russia] PP P NP PP (Mod) P (NP) [tomorrow] AdvP Adv AdvP (Mod) Adv (very) infrequently 7 Phrase Internal Structure go to a concert tomorrow] VP> V PP AdvP VP> (AdvP) V (NP*) (PP*) (AdvP*) why NP* : give Mary the book NP NP why PP*: go to a concert in his convertible PP PP why AdvP*: go to a concert briefly tomorrow AdvP AdvP 8 Phrase Internal Structure [My very funny friend in Russia will go to a concert tomorrow] S NP (Aux) VP Phrase Structure Rules for EnglishS > NP (Aux) VP NP > (Det) (AP*) N (PP*) VP > (AdvP) V (NP*) (PP*) (AdvP*) PP > (Mod) P (NP) AP > (Mod) A (PP) AdvP > (Mod) Adv (PP) [S [NP My very funny friend in Russia] will [VP go to a concert tomorrow]] 9 10 Embedding 1 • • • • A mouse A mouse in a house A mouse in a house on a street A mouse in a house on a street with a lamp p A mouse in a house on a street with a lamp without a switch • • • • Embedding 2 Bill saw Mary Harry said that Bill saw Mary Rita heard that Harry said that Bill saw Mary Marvin whispered that Rita heard that Harry said that Bill saw Mary • What’s embedded in what? • Prepositional Phrases can be embedded inside Noun Phrases, to make bigger and bigger NPs. 11 • What’s embedded in what? • Sentences can be embedded inside bigger sentences. 12 2 Embedding 3 Relative Clauses • • •The cat The cat that ate the rat The cat that ate the rat that lived in the barn The cat that ate the rat that lived in the barn that sat near the house that Jack built We can mix and match ALL of these various embedding mechanisms • If Bill distinctly heard that a mouse in the house that sits on the edge of the forest will most likely eat a frog from Moline and if Taras Bulba believes that this will threaten the stability of the Western empire, then pink panthers with shining eyes and split lips may decide that it is time that they took matters into their own limp paws! • What is embedded in what? Relative Clauses inside Noun Phrases; to make bigger and bigger Noun Phrases.
13 14 Phrase Structure Rules for English S > NP (Aux) VP NP > (Det) (AP*) N (PP*) VP > (AdvP) V (NP*) (PP*) (AdvP*) PP > (Mod) P (NP) AP > (Mod) A (PP) AdvP > (Mod) Adv (PP) Recursion [NP The cat [PP on [NP the mat [PP in [NP the bedroom [PP next to [NP the bathroom…]]]]]]] NP > (Det) (AP*) N (PP*) PP > (Adv) P NP 15 16 Two key ideas Phrase Structure • Recursive Rules: – rules that can apply again and again to their own outputs • Hierarchical structure: – recursive rules can yield bigger and bigger phrasesBeads on a string Hierarchical structure 17 18 3 Phrase Structure Tree S NP Aux VP Phrase Structure Tree • Branch: a line connecting two parts of a tree • Node: the terminal point (the beginning or the end) of a branch • Label: the name given to a node (e. g. , N, VP, S, etc. ) 19 20 D AP A N PP P NP V P PP NP D N AdvP Adv My good friend in Russia will go to a concert tomorrow. Phrase Structure Tree A nodes label B branch C The Internal Structure of a Noun Phrase NP Specifier the a every this my Bill’s Head N student friend he Mary Complement in my class who is a liar that took my wallet 2 21 Types of NPs NP N dogs toothbrushes quiche sheep Oswald Ruby 23 Types of NPs NP N dogs toothbrushes quiche sheep Oswald Ruby NP Pro I, me, you, he, him, she, her, we, us, they, them, it NP Det N the dog a mouse most cats these people every guy 24 4 Types of NPs NP (Det) AdjP N happy dogs the big one a raw deal rainy days Types of NPs NP (Det) AdjP N happy dogs, the big one, a raw deal, rainy days NP (Det) AdjP AdjP N the big bad wolf, a small yellow ball a mad mad world longer strings of AdjPs are possible 25 26 Types of VPs VP V slept arrived smiled coughed waved ate 27 Types of VPsVP V slept, left, arrived, smiled, coughed waved ate 28 VP V h chase NP NP NP Types of VPs Det VP V slept, left, arrived, smiled, coughed waved ate 29 Types of VPs N VP V slept, left, arrived, smiled, coughed waved ate VP V NP Det N VP V chase h NP the dog, a boy, those cats, these people, that guy the dog, a boy, those cats, these people, that th t guy chased the dog, saw a boy, love these people, hate that guy 30 5 Types of VPs VP V slept, left, arrived, smiled, coughed waved ate VP V h chase NP NP Pro I, me, my you, your he, him, his, she, her, we, us, our, their, 31 them, it Types of VPsVP V slept, left, arrived, smiled, coughed waved ate VP V NP NP Pro I, me, my you, your he, him, his, she, her, we, us, our, their, them, it 32 chased me, saw you, love them, hate her So you plug these little trees together like puzzle pieces to get more and more complex structures S So you plug these little trees together like puzzle pieces to get more and more complex structures S NP VP NP VP VP V 33 NP 34 So you plug these little trees together like puzzle pieces to get more and more complex structures S So you plug these little trees together like puzzle pieces to get more and more complex structures S subject NP predicate
