The Lexical Subclasses Of The Linguistic String Parser

Thc N T T T Linguistic String 1>arscr (1,SI') is a ~vorldng system for the syntactic analysis of Ehglish scicntifie tests. It consists of a parsing program, a large-coverage b~glish grammar , and a Icsicon. Thc gramnlarls effcctivcncss in parsing texts is due in large part to a substantial Imdy of detail cvl \vc.Il-formedness rcst rictions which eliminate most incorrect syntactic parses which would be allo~vecl by a weaker grammar. The restrictions mainly test for compatible combinations of word subclasses. This paper dcfines the 109 adjective, noun and verb suhclasscs. These subolasses, as \'ell as others not prcscnted herc, are defined Ln such a way that they can he used as a guide for dassifymg new entries to the LSP lexicon and as a lingpistic reference twl. Fach definition lncludcs a statement of the intent of tllc subclass, a diawostic frame, sentence examples and a worcl list draun from tho present dictionary. The subclasses are defined tro reflect precisely the grammatical propertics tested for by the restrictiol~s of the grammar Where necessary for clariking the intent of the subclass, three additiollal criteria are employed: excision, implicit and co-rcfcrcncc, and paraphrase. The subclasscs have been defined so as to be consistent with a subsecluent stage of transformational analysis rilzicl~ is currently being imp1 e-mentd.