Multiword expressions and lexicalism: the view from LFG

Abstract

Multiword expressions (MWEs) pose a problem for lexicalist theories like Lexical Functional Grammar (LFG), since they are prima facie counterexamples to a strong form of the lexical integrity principle, which entails that a lexical item can only be realised as a single, syntactically atomic word. In this paper, I demonstrate some of the problems facing any strongly lexicalist account of MWEs, and argue that the lexical integrity principle must be weakened. I conclude by sketching a formalism which integrates a Tree Adjoining Grammar into the LFG architecture, taking advantage of this relaxation.

Dispensing with Unwanted Polysemy: Verbal Idioms and the Lexicon

“…Some of them, such as wh-movement, topicalization or passivization were touched upon in this paper. Findlay (2017), though arguing for weakening lexical integrity, suggests that idioms should be associated (as LIs) with particular syntactic structures which secure the relevant morphosyntactic effects (e.g. passivization).…”

Lexical Functional Grammar as a Construction Grammar

“…Section 4 examines how LFG handles some constructional phenomena, showing that existing machinery allows it to analyse many formal idioms well, but that it falls short when it comes to substantive idioms. I discuss some existing inadequate proposals, and conclude that Findlay's (2019;to appear) proposal to replace the context-free grammar backbone of LFG with a tree-adjoining grammar would give the appropriate level of descriptive freedom to enable LFG to capture substantive idioms. With this move, LFG's notion of 'extended domain of locality' is expanded to include phrase struc-4 In its guise as a research paradigm rather than a formalism, LFG has tended to be split on assumptions 6 and 7.…”