| ROA: | 589 |
| Title: | Variation, Ambiguity, and Noun Classes in English |
| Authors: | Arto Anttila, Vivienne Fong |
| Comment: | |
| Length: | 37 |
| Abstract: | This paper explores a theory of the meaning-form relation based on ranked and violable constraints (Prince and Smolensky, 1993), using the English genitive construction as a testing ground. Our main thesis is that partially ordered optimality-theoretic grammars allow us to relate four apparently independent empirical phenomena: (i) categorical grammaticality contrasts; (ii) variation and preferences in expression; (iii) ambiguity and preferences in interpretation; (iv) lexical organization. |
| Type: | Paper/tech report |
| Area/Keywords: | Syntax, Semantics |
| Article: | This article has been withdrawn. |
