Question about the reading

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Question about the reading

• What are clitics?
• They are not words.
• Evidence they cant be stressed
• They are not prefixes or suffixes.
• Evidence they dont cause certain changes in the
  word that a prefix or suffix would cause.
• Evidence any given prefix or suffix can attach
  to one kind of word (for example, only nouns or
  only verbs). Some clitics attach to whatever is
  nearby.

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Example Spanish clitic pronouns(Data to be
supplied by the class)

• Word stress in Spanish
• Stress the second to last or last syllable
• Examples
• When you add a suffix like able or mente, the
  stress goes on the new second to last syllable
• Examples
• Clitic pronoun
• Example I am reading it.
• When the clitic is added, the stress stays on the
  old second to last syllable.
• Clitic pronoun
• Example I see him.
• Can it be stressed?

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A Distributional Approach to Parts of Speech

• Grammars and Lexicons
• 11-721
• September 5, 2007

4
Categories of WordsParts of Speech

• Noun
• Verb
• Adjective
• Adverb
• Preposition
• Determiner (Article)
• Modal ?

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Parts of Speech
Det Noun Modal Verb Adverb Adjective
Prep. Det Noun
This boy must seem incredibly stupid to
that girl.
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Scientific method in linguistics

• Theories (hypotheses) must be testable and
  falsifiable.
• Results must be reproducible.

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Reproducible Results Chomsky, 1957

• The search for rigorous formulation in
  linguistics has a much more serious motivation
  than mere concern for logical niceties or the
  desire to purify well-established methods of
  linguistic analysis. Precisely constructed
  models for linguistic structure can play an
  important role, both negative and positive, in
  the process of discovery itself. By pushing a
  precise but inadequate formulation to an
  unacceptable conclusion, we can often expose the
  exact source of the inadequacy and, consequently,
  gain a deeper understanding of the linguistic
  data. More positively a formalized theory may
  automatically provide solutions for many problems
  other than those for which it was explicitly
  designed. Obscure and intuition-bound notions
  can neither lead to absurd conclusions nor
  provide new and correct ones, and hence they fail
  to be useful in two important respects.

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• In language technologies, imprecise definitions
  lead to poor intercoder reliability, which leads
  to poor training, etc.

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A traditional theory of parts of speech

• Verbs denote actions
• Nouns denote entities
• Adjectives denote states
• Adverbs denote manner
• Prepositions denote location
• Determiners specify

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Counter-examples

• The same concept can function in several parts of
  speech.
• Pinker, page 98
• Her interest in fungi (noun)
• Fungi are starting to interest her more and more.
  (verb)
• She seems interested in fungi. (adjective)
• Interestingly, the fungi grew an inch in an hour.
  (adverb)

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The distributional theory of parts of speech

• A part of speech, then, is not a kind of
  meaning it is a kind of token that obeys certain
  formal rules, like a chess piece or a poker
  chip.
• Pinker, page 98
• Testable and falsifiable
• Assumes discrete categories

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The distributional theory of parts of speech

• Distribution
• The contexts where the word can appear
• Morphology
• Prefixes, suffixes, and other changes to the
  structure of the word.

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Identifying parts of speech by their Morphology

• Morphology The form of words
• Affixes Prefixes, suffixes, infixes
• Stem changes swim/swam

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Morphological properties of English nouns

• Count nouns
• Cup/cups
• Book/books
• Mass nouns
• Attention/?attentions
• Sand/?sands
• Water/?waters
• Coffee/?coffees

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Morphological Properties of English adjectives

• Monosyllabic (one syllable) adjectives
• Tall/taller/tallest
• Fast/faster/fastest
• Multi-syllabic adjectives
• Intelligent/more intelligent/most intelligent
• Except for adjectives that have non-gradable
  meanings
• Alphabetical, unique, pregnant

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Invariant words no prefixes or suffixes in
English

• Prepositions (in, on, at, about, across, beyond,
  etc.)
• Modals (may, might, can, could, must, shall,
  should, etc.)

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Morphological Properties of English Verbs
Base Participle Past Present Gerund
mow mown mowed mows mowing
prove proven proved proves proving
go gone went goes going
meet met met meets meeting
cut cut cut cuts cutting
Past Participle
Present Participle
Third person singular subject
Infinitive
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What are participles?

• Verb forms that act like adjectives or nouns
• Mown grass
• Participle in an adjective position
• Mowing is fun
• Participle in a noun position

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Other uses of English Participles

• The grass was mown.
• Passive verb
• I was mowing the grass.
• Present progressive verb

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Distributional criteria for parts of speech
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Template 1 adjectives

• Great ideas spread quickly.
• Interesting ideas spread quickly.
• Stupid ideas spread quickly.
• Colorless ideas spread quickly.
• Words of the same category have the same
  distribution. For example, adjectives can come
  before nouns.

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Template 2 adjectives

• They are very adjective.
• They are very nice/gentlemanly/ladylike.
• They are very gentlemen/ladies/faxes.
• They are very starve/die.
• They are very to/at/on.
• They are very in.
• They are very off.

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Template 3 adjectives and adverbs

• Very adverb or adjective
• Very slow
• Very slowly
• Very badly
• Very happy

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Template 4 adverb

• He treats her adverb.
• He treats her well.
• He treats her arrogantly.
• He treats her nicely.
• He treats her nice.
• He treats her good.

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Template 5 nouns

• noun can be a pain in the neck.
• Television can be a pain in the neck.
• Linguistics can be a pain in the neck.
• This can be a pain in the neck.
• Happy can be a pain in the neck.
• From can be a pain in the neck.
• The can be a pain in the neck.
• Breathe can be a pain in the neck.

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Template 6 verbs

• They/it can verb.
• They/it can stay/leave/die/cry.
• They/it can gorgeous/cute/trendy.
• They/it can from/to/in/off/on.
• They/it can door/bible/gold/camera.

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Template 7 Modals

• Modal I be frank?
• Can I be frank?
• Must I be frank?
• Should I be frank?
• Need I be frank?

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Template 8 determiner

• He wrote determiner other works.
• He wrote the/all/these/no/few/many other works.
• He wrote despair/be/have other works.
• He wrote student other works.
• ?He wrote successful other works.

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Template 9 prepositions

• Right preposition.
• Right is an intensifier.
• Right up/down/in/on/across the street
• Right down the stairs
• Right in the drawer
• Right from school
• Right across the street
• He right despaired.
• She chose right this one.

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Problems

• Problems with Radfords templates
• Problems for the assumption of discrete
  categories
• Words that evade categorization

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Template 1 problem

• Templates need to be more exact
• Great ideas spread quickly.
• The ideas spread quickly.
• Do great and the have the same part of speech?

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Template 5 need subcategories

• Cat can be a pain in the neck.
• The template only works for
• Plural nouns (e.g., cats)
• Mass nouns (e.g., water)
• Pronouns (e.g., he)
• Proper nouns (e.g., Sam)
• Cat is a singular count noun.

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Count and mass nouns

• Singular count nouns must occur with a
  determiner
• The cat was a pain in the neck.
• A cat can be a pain in the neck.
• Cat was a pain in the neck.
• Plural nouns and mass nouns can occur without a
  determiner.
• Cats can be a pain in the neck.
• Water can be a pain in the neck.
• Singular mass nouns change their meaning when
  they occur with a
• a water
• a coffee
• ?An information

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Other things to take into account

• He can be a pain in the neck.
• Him can be a pain in the neck.
• This music rocks.
• These CDs rock.

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Template 6 Need subcategories

• They can handle.
• They can accommodate.
• They can harbor.
• The template only works for intransitive verbs.
• These verbs need another noun after them.
• They can handle boredom.
• They can accommodate changes.
• They can harbor criminals.

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Template 9 prepositions

• She looked at him right strangely. (dialect)
• She is right pretty. (dialect)
• You look a right clown. (Oxford English
  Dictionary)
• The government made a right mess of it. (Oxford
  English Dictionary)

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Words can have more than one part of speech

• He needs to see a doctor. (verb)
• Need I be frank? (modal)
• I feel a need to explore my roots. (noun)

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Importance to you

• The distributional theory of parts of speech is
  problematic, but it is your best bet for your
  grammar writing project.
• When you are building a lexicon, you will decide
  on parts of speech for words by using template
  tests and morphological tests.

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In-class exercise

• Goals
• Interpret the results of distributional tests for
  parts of speech.
• Discover that some words are problematic for the
  distributional theory of parts of speech.
• Reminder
• When you know a language, you know a complex body
  of unconscious knowledge.

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Words that evade classification

• More tests for prepositions and adjectives
• Cambridge Grammar of the English Language,
  Chapter 7, Section 2.2
• Attempt to categorize like, worth, near,
  opposite, due, close, far

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Predicative and non-predicative adjuncts

• Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, page
  604
• Adjectives predicative modifiers
• Tired of the ship, the captain saw an island on
  which to land.
• Tired is predicated of the captain.
• Tired of the ship, there was a small island.
• Prepositions non-predicative modifiers
• Ahead of the ship, the captain saw an island on
  which to land.
• Ahead of the ship, there was an island on which
  to land.

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Become, Feel, Seem, Look

• Adjectives
• He became/seemed/felt/looked happy
• Prepositions
• He became/seemed/felt/looked in the park.
• Exceptions
• He became/seemed/felt/looked under the weather
• He became/seemed/felt/looked out of his mind

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Degree modification

• Adjectives
• Very smart
• Smarter
• Smart enough
• very much smart
• Prepositions
• very in the room
• ?very much in the room
• more on the table
• ?This book is more on the table than that one.
• ?This book is enough on the table not to fall.
• ?This book is on the table enough not to fall.
• This book is very much on the table.
• ?This book is more about linguistics than that
  one.

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Followed by bare NP or PP

• Adjectives Cannot be followed by bare NP
• Fond of Sam
• Fond Sam
• Happy about the promotion
• Happy the promotion
• Prepositions Can be followed by bare NP
• In the room
• About linguistics

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Right and Straight

• Adjectives
• right red
• right conspicuous
• ?right smart
• Prepositions
• Straight into the room
• Right on the table

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Coming with a question word when it moves (Pied
Piping, from a story where kids and rats followed
a piper)

• Relative clause
• I saw a man
• The man who I saw ___
• Embedded question
• I know that you saw someone.
• I dont know who you saw ___.
• Prepositions
• She cut the bread with a knife
• The knife with which she cut it ___
• The knife she cut it with
• I know that you are referring to someone.
• I dont know to whom you are referring ___
• I dont know who you are referring to.
• Adjectives
• She is fond of Sam.
• ?The boy fond of whom she is ___
• The boy of whom she is fond __
• The boy who she is fond of ___
• I dont know fond of whom she is.

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Worth

• Predication
• Worth over a million dollars, the jewels were
  kept under surveillance.
• Worth over a million dollars, there will be
  ample opportunity for a lavish lifestyle.
• Become
• What might have been a 200 first edition
  suddenly became worth perhaps ten times that much.

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Worth

• Degree modification
• It was very worth the effort.
• It was very much worth the effort.
• ?It was enough worth the effort.
• ?It was worth the effort enough.
• Followed by a bare NP
• yes

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Worth

• Right and straight
• The land is right worth 100K.
• Comes with a question word?
• She thought the land was worth 100K.
• This was far less than the amount which she
  thought the land was worth ___.
• This was far less than the amount worth which
  she thought the land was ___.

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Worth

• Degree modification

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Parts of Speech in Language Technologies
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Part of Speech Tagging

• Input string of words
• Output string of words with a part of speech
  associated with each word.
• Example
• Thisdet boyN likesV thatdet girlN
• Use statistical or rule-based knowledge about
  distribution.
• Usually use a long list of parts of speech, e.g.,
  around 40.

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Part of speech tags used in the Penn Treebank

• Coordinating conjunction
• Cardinal number
• Determiner
• Existential-there
• Foreign word
• Preposition/subordinating conjunction
• Adjective
• Comparative adjective
• Superlative adjective
• List item marker
• Modal

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Part of speech tags used in the Penn Treebank

• Singular noun or mass noun
• Plural noun
• Singular proper noun
• Plural proper noun
• Predeterminer
• Possessive ending
• Personal pronoun
• Possessive pronoun
• Adverb
• Comparative adverb
• Superlative adverb
• Particle

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Part of speech tags used in the Penn Treebank

• Symbol
• To
• Interjection
• Base form verb
• Past tense verb
• Gerund or present participle verb
• Past participle verb
• Verb not 3rd person singular present
• Verb 3rd singular present
• Wh-determiner
• Wh-pronoun
• Possessive wh-pronoun
• Wh-adverb

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A different theory of Parts of Speech
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Theory of Propositional Acts and Parts of
Speech(William Croft, Radical Construction
Grammar, Chapter 2)

• Refer
• Modify
• Predicate
• Nouns are words that refer without additional
  marking.
• Adjectives and adverbs modify without additional
  marking.
• Verbs predicate without additional marking.

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Additional Marking

• Predication gt reference
• Destroy gt destruction
• The destruction of the city
• Predication gt modification
• Destroy gt that destroyed
• The hurricane that destroyed New Orleans
• Modification gt predication
• Red gt is red
• The book is red
• Modification gt reference
• red gt the red one
• The red one is on the shelf
• Reference gt predication
• Teacher gt is a teacher
• He is a teacher

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Problems with propositional acts and additional
marking

• Modification gt reference without additional
  marking
• Robin Hood stole from the rich and gave to the
  poor.
• Reference gt modification without marking
• Toy house

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Variation across languages

• World Atlas of Language Structures

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Things that are marked on verbs in other languages

• Aspect
• Perfect and imperfect
• Mood
• Subjunctive
• Voice
• Passive