The X-bar theory of phrase structure

Datos Bibliográficos

ID3049593
AutoresAndrás Kornai (0000-0001-6078-6840, Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Geoffrey K Pullum (0000-0002-7748-8847, University of California, Santa Cruz)
Año1990
Volumen66
Número1
Páginas24
Fecha de publicación1990-03-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaLanguage (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0097-8507 • E-ISSN: 1535-0665
EditorialJSTOR (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/415278
OpenAlexW4235553626
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas27
Referencias citadas18

X-bar theory is widely regarded as a substantive theory of phrase structure properties in natural languages. In this paper we will demonstrate that a formalization of its content reveals very little substance in its claims. We state and discuss six conditions that encapsulate the claims of X-bar theory: L EXICALITY -each nonterminal is a projection of a preterminal; S UCCESSION -each X n + 1 dominates an X n for all n ≥ 0; U NIFORMITY -all maximal projections have the same bar-level; M AXIMALITY -all nonheads are maximal projections; C ENTRALITY -the start symbol is a maximal projection; and O PTIONALITY -all and only nonheads are optional. We then consider recent proposals to 'eliminate' base components from transformational grammars and to reinterpret X-bar theory as a set of universal constraints holding for all languages at D-structure, arguing that this strategy fails. We show that, as constraints on phrase-structure rule systems, the X-bar conditions have hardly any effect on the descriptive power of grammars, and that the principles with the most chance of making some descriptive difference are the least adhered to in practice. Finally, we reconstruct X-bar theory in a way that makes no reference to the notion of bar-level but instead makes the notion 'head of the central one

Algorithm · Bar (unit · Discrete mathematics · Linguistics · Natural language processing · Phrase · Physics · Projection (relational algebra · Symbol (formal · Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science · Digital Communication and Language · Lexicography and Language Studies · Linguistics, Language Diversity, and Identity · Mathematics · Natural Language Processing Techniques · Philosophy · semigroups and automata theory · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation