Eckhard Bick - VISL

chain, but rather the linguistic core of a heterogeneous program chain whose other
parts serve graphical and pedagogical purposes. Still, there are linguistic constraints,
since an independent pedagogical application imposes a certain system of
grammatical theory as well as notational conventions on the parser’s output, and as
an example I will discuss the automatic transformation of CG output into syntactic
tree structures.
Throughout the text, frequent and unavoidable use is made of the parser’s tags and
symbols. Where these are not explained or clear from context, one can find the
necessary definitions and examples in the “tag list” appendix. The parser’s individual
modules will be discussed in input-output order, i.e. in the order of the parser’s
program chain. The following illustration summarises module functions and
sequentiality for the parser proper and its MT add-ons:
Table (2): Parsing modules
LEXICAL
ANALYSER
PREPROCESSOR
polylexicals, capitalisation
infixes & enclitics
abbreviation identification
"PALMORF"
MORPHOLOGICAL ANALYSER
produces (ambiguous) cohorts of alternative word-readings, treats:
lexeme identification, flexion & derivation
incorporating verbs, hyphenisation & quote tags
proper noun heuristics, accent heuristics, luso-brasilian bimorphism,
fused function words I
MORPHOLOGICAL DISAMBIGUATION
iterative application of contextual Contraint Grammar rules, based on:
word class, word form, base form, valency markers, semantic class markers
POSTPROCESSOR
TAGGER fused function words II
"PALTAG"
SYNTACTIC MAPPING
attaches lists of possible syntactic function tags / constituent markers (word & clause level)
to word classes or base forms, for a given CG rule context
SYNTACTIC DISAMBIGUATION
iterative application of contextual Contraint Grammar rules, treats:
argument structure & adjuncts, head-modifier attachment
subclause function (finite subclauses, infinitive clauses, averbal subclauses (small clauses)
PARSER "PALSYN"
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