Subcategorization framework

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In syntax theory, a subcategorization framework is a formal description of the syntactic (and sometimes also the semantic ) valence of a word (especially a verb ), i.e. the number and type of arguments that this word requires.

In the simplest case, a subcategorization frame contains the phrase type and (in the case of languages ​​with case marking) the case of the arguments required by the relevant word. For example, a simple intransitive verb like sleep only requires a noun phrase in the nominative ( He is sleeping ), while a simple transitive verb also requires a noun phrase in the accusative ( she kisses him ). The corresponding subcategorization frames can be represented as follows:

  • sleep : [_ NP nominative ]
  • kiss : [_ NP nominative NP accusative ]

Also adverbs and prepositional phrases are recorded in subcategorization when they are required by a verb imperative. Thus , in addition to subject and object, a prepositional phrase ( he puts the book on the table ) and the verb to find (in the sense of "having an opinion on something") demands an adverb of the manner ( he finds the book exciting ):

  • lay : [_ NP nominative NP accusative PP]
  • find : [_ NP nominative NP accusative AdvP]

In some theories (e.g. case grammar , construction grammar , and some versions of government and binding theory ) the semantic role of the argument is specified in addition to the phrase type and case . This enables more precise distinctions to be made between words with formally identical subcategorization frames. So claim lay and tear both a subject, an object and a prepositional phrase, so both have the formal subcategorization framework [_ NP nominative NP accusative PP]. However, the prepositional phrase describes a place in the first case (see above), in the second a state ( he tears the book to pieces ). This difference can be shown by including semantic roles:

  • place : [_ NP nominative / agent NP accusative / patient PP / place]
  • tear : [_ NP nominative / agent NP accusative / patient PP / state]

However, many syntax theorists consider semantic roles to be problematic, as no complete and generally applicable list of such roles has yet been found.

In some syntax theories (e.g. government and binding theory ) it is assumed that the subcategorization frame of a word is part of its entry in the mental lexicon . Other theories (e.g. the head-driven phrase structure grammar and construction grammar ) see subcategorization frames as independent units of the linguistic system that can be combined with various verbs on the basis of general principles.

A comparable instrument for the detailed formal representation of the arguments (actants) of a predicative word is the rection model.

literature

  • Noam A. Chomsky: Aspects of the Theory of Syntax . MIT Press, Cambridge, MA 1965, ISBN 0-262-53007-4 .
  • Adele E. Goldberg: Constructions: A Construction Grammar Approach to Argument Structure . The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 1995, ISBN 0-226-30086-2 .
  • Liliane Haegeman: Introduction to Government and Bindig Theory . 2nd Edition. Blackwell, London 1994, ISBN 0-631-19067-8 .
  • Ivan A. Sag, Thomas Wasow, Emily Bender: Syntactic Theory: A Formal Introduction . 2nd Edition. CSLI, Stanford 2003, ISBN 1-57586-400-2 .