The term phrase structure grammar was originally introduced by Noam Chomsky as the term for grammar studied previously by Emil Post and Axel Thue (Post canonical systems). Some authors, however, reserve the term for more restricted grammars in the Chomsky hierarchy: context-sensitive grammars or context-free grammars. In a broader sense, phrase structure grammars are also known as constituency grammars. The defining character of phrase structure grammars is thus their adherence to the constituency relation, as opposed to the dependency relation of dependency grammars.
History
In 1956, Chomsky wrote, "A phrase-structure grammar is defined by a finite vocabulary (alphabet) Vp, and a finite set Σ of initial strings in Vp, and a finite set F of rules of the form: X → Y, where X and Y are strings in Vp."
Constituency relation
In linguistics, phrase structure grammars are all those grammars that are based on the constituency relation, as opposed to the dependency relation associated with dependency grammars; hence, phrase structure grammars are also known as constituency grammars. Any of several related theories for the parsing of natural language qualify as constituency grammars, and most of them have been developed from Chomsky's work, including
- Government and binding theory
- Generalized phrase structure grammar
- Head-driven phrase structure grammar
- Lexical functional grammar
- The minimalist program
- Nanosyntax
Further grammar frameworks and formalisms also qualify as constituency-based, although they may not think of themselves as having spawned from Chomsky's work, e.g.
- Arc pair grammar, and
- Categorial grammar.
See also
Notes
- Chomsky, Noam (1956). "Three models for the description of language" (PDF). IRE Transactions on Information Theory: 117. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2023-05-03.
- Matthews (1981:71ff.) provides an insightful discussion of the distinction between constituency- and dependency-based grammars. See also Allerton (1979:238f.), McCawley (1988:13), Mel'cuk (1988:12-14), Borsley (1991:30f.), Sag and Wasow (1999:421f.), van Valin (2001:86ff.).
References
- Allerton, D. 1979. Essentials of grammatical theory. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
- Borsley, R. 1991. Syntactic theory: A unified approach. London: Edward Arnold.
- Chomsky, Noam 1957. Syntactic structures. The Hague/Paris: Mouton.
- Matthews, P. Syntax. 1981. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0521297097.
- McCawley, T. 1988. The syntactic phenomena of English, Vol. 1. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
- Mel'cuk, I. 1988. Dependency syntax: Theory and practice. Albany: SUNY Press.
- Sag, I. and T. Wasow. 1999. Syntactic theory: A formal introduction. Stanford, CA: CSLI Publications.
- Tesnière, Lucien 1959. Éleménts de syntaxe structurale. Paris: Klincksieck.
- van Valin, R. 2001. An introduction to syntax. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
The term phrase structure grammar was originally introduced by Noam Chomsky as the term for grammar studied previously by Emil Post and Axel Thue Post canonical systems Some authors however reserve the term for more restricted grammars in the Chomsky hierarchy context sensitive grammars or context free grammars In a broader sense phrase structure grammars are also known as constituency grammars The defining character of phrase structure grammars is thus their adherence to the constituency relation as opposed to the dependency relation of dependency grammars HistoryIn 1956 Chomsky wrote A phrase structure grammar is defined by a finite vocabulary alphabet Vp and a finite set S of initial strings in Vp and a finite set F of rules of the form X Y where X and Y are strings in Vp Constituency relationIn linguistics phrase structure grammars are all those grammars that are based on the constituency relation as opposed to the dependency relation associated with dependency grammars hence phrase structure grammars are also known as constituency grammars Any of several related theories for the parsing of natural language qualify as constituency grammars and most of them have been developed from Chomsky s work including Government and binding theory Generalized phrase structure grammar Head driven phrase structure grammar Lexical functional grammar The minimalist program Nanosyntax Further grammar frameworks and formalisms also qualify as constituency based although they may not think of themselves as having spawned from Chomsky s work e g Arc pair grammar and Categorial grammar See alsoCatenaNotesChomsky Noam 1956 Three models for the description of language PDF IRE Transactions on Information Theory 117 Archived from the original PDF on 2023 05 03 Matthews 1981 71ff provides an insightful discussion of the distinction between constituency and dependency based grammars See also Allerton 1979 238f McCawley 1988 13 Mel cuk 1988 12 14 Borsley 1991 30f Sag and Wasow 1999 421f van Valin 2001 86ff ReferencesAllerton D 1979 Essentials of grammatical theory London Routledge amp Kegan Paul Borsley R 1991 Syntactic theory A unified approach London Edward Arnold Chomsky Noam 1957 Syntactic structures The Hague Paris Mouton Matthews P Syntax 1981 Cambridge UK Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 0521297097 McCawley T 1988 The syntactic phenomena of English Vol 1 Chicago The University of Chicago Press Mel cuk I 1988 Dependency syntax Theory and practice Albany SUNY Press Sag I and T Wasow 1999 Syntactic theory A formal introduction Stanford CA CSLI Publications Tesniere Lucien 1959 Elements de syntaxe structurale Paris Klincksieck van Valin R 2001 An introduction to syntax Cambridge UK Cambridge University Press
