Alliance : Franco-British research partnership programme

Alliance 2005

Application form - First Year Funding

Deadline 14 May 2004

Please read carefully the information provided in the “Call for proposals” before

completing this form.

1 Participants

	UK team	French team
Project leader	Doug Arnold	Danièle Godard
Position	Lecturer	Directeur de recherches au CNRS
Department	Language and Linguistics	Laboratoire de Linguistique Formelle
Full address	University of Essex Wivenhoe Park Colchester, CO7 9BE, UK	UMR 7110, Université Paris 7, 2, place Jussieu, 75251 Paris Cedex 05
Telephone	01206872084	0144277839
Fax	01206872198	0144277919
E-mail	doug@essex.ac.uk	daniele.godard@linguist.jussieu.fr
Web page	http://priveatewww.essex.ac.uk/~doug	http://www.llf.cnrs.fr/fr/Godard/

Linked proposals

Are you submitting a linked proposal ? (see section “Building European Networks” in the call for proposals) Yes No

If Yes, please make sure you fill in section 7 of this form.

2 Project description

Project title

Interface Issues in Constraint Based Grammar

Summary

The proposed exchange programme aims to give the two teams regular opportunity to test and develop the results they have obtained separately in the course of their research on `interface issues' in the grammatical description of English, French and Welsh. This is expected to start a closer collaboration between the individuals involved, leading to enhanced understanding of the phenomena, and permitting joint publication of results.

Key Words Give up to four key words or phrases which describe the area of research

Linguistics, Grammar, Interfaces

Subject Classification Please select from the list

Agriculture, fisheries and food	Computing science	Mathematics
Applied social sciences	Earth and Environmental Science	Medical science
Biological science	Engineering	Physics and astronomy
Chemical science	Materials science

3 Project details

Scientific Background : give a brief account of the developments on which the project is based

Recent years have seen the rapid development of what are generally know as `Constraint Based' approaches to linguistic description, e.g. Lexical Functional Grammar (LFG) and Head Driven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG). Among the advantages of such approaches are firm formal foundations and attractive formal properties (which permit straightforward computational implementation, facilitating the development of large scale computational grammars). Research of internationally recognized quality has been carried out independently at the two centres using these approaches. This project seeks to gain synergy through collaboration.

Aims and objectives :explain what the work is intended to achieve, including likely impact and outcomes

Work undertaken independently in the two centres on (inter alia) English, French, and Welsh has produced a considerable body of results in the proposed areas of collaboration. These results appear to show an interesting complementarity, using essentially the same theoretical appraratus but having been developed separately for different languages.

The aim is to enhance understanding of phenomena under consideration by confronting the different analyses, tools, and datasets that have been developed in the separate centres.

The immediate objective is to provide a framework in which collaboration between the two groups, and individuals from the two groups, can flourish. The implementation of this framework will involve the development and enhancement of a number of common resources (bibliographies, web pages, computational tools), a number of individual exchange visits, and a workshop. These in turn are expected to result in the production of papers for international conferences, and publications in international journals. The topics that have been chosen as the focus are topics of considerable current interest, not only within Constraint Based approaches, but in the broader fields of theoretical and descriptive linguists, as well as fields that use results of these fields (socio-, psycho-, neuro-, and computational linguistics, for example).

Social and economic context of the work : explain the “end-use” of the research

A number of computation environments have been developed for Constraint Based grammar formalism, and large scale grammars have been developed for a number of languages (e.g. the Lingo system for HPSG, ParGram for LFG). Such grammars are by nature `high precision', and consequently useful for a number of language engineering applications (such as Machine Translation, Text Generation, Information Extraction). But the development of grammars relies on a clear and accurate characterization of grammatical phenomena in individual languages. The phenomena which are the focus of this project are felt to be particularly problematic for current understanding, and theoretical progress will be of corresponding importance.

Proposed programme : within the space allocated, please give details of the collaborative programme including reference to the methodology to be used (Please indicate the role of the French team as UK referees will not see the French application)

The project aims to promote research on a number of topics where the participants have special, complementary, expertise. These topics are concerned with`interface issues': specifically (i) the interface between Syntax and Semantics and (ii) the interface between syntax and morphology. The methodological framework is provided by the paradigm of `Constraint Based' Linguistic Theory, within which both teams have high international standing.

Under (i) the project will pay particular attention to the syntax and semantics of Relative Clauses (especially the relation between Restrictive and Non-Restrictive Relative Clauses in English and French, and the status of resumptive pronouns in French and Welsh), Negation (where Welsh and French show interesting similarities and differences), and Coordination (where there appear to be analogous problems in teach of the three languages).

Under (ii) the project will pay particular attention to structures which seem to show a mixture of lexical or morphological properties and syntactic proporties: in particular, Clitics in Welsh and French, and `small' or `lite' constructions in English and French.

The last 30 years of research in Linguistics has seen an enormous increase in the level of understanding in the main areas of syntax, semantics and morphology/lexicon. Recent years have seen increased interest in the interfaces between these components, which are now seen as problematic. Constraint Based approaches provide an excellent framework for investigation of these issues, partly because their architectures have been specifically designed to permit this investigation, and because they give equal weight to the different components while maintaining clear conceptual boundaries between them.

Practically, this collaboration will involve a number of individual exchanges, typically of a few days duration, to allow face-to-face collaborative work between individuals, and an end of year workshop to provide a focus and act as a forum for assessment of results, and progress, and as an aid to dissemination of results. The workshop will be widely publicized and participation by researchers who have not taken direct part in the project will be encouraged.

The roles of French and UK teams will be broadly identical (it is intended that both contribute equally to all aspects of the project), except that the project web site will be maintained by the UK partner. There will be differences in roles at the level of collaborating individuals reflecting different backround knowledge and expertise.

4 Expertise of groups

People : higlight the particular expertise of the collaborators (British and French)

In the French group:

Anne Abeillé is the author a computational grammar of French, and has worked extensively on clitics , coordination, and `lite' constructions.

Danièle Godard has written extensively on the grammar of French, particularly on clitics, relative clauses, and negation.

Alain Rouveret is the author of a book on Welsh syntax, and articles on Welsh clitics and resumptive pronouns.

In the UK group:

Doug Arnold has worked on `lite' constructions and the semantics of relative clauses in English, and on computational implementation.

Robert Borsley has written extensively on Welsh and English syntax, including coordination, and is the author of a recent monograph on negation in Welsh.

Louisa Sadler is the author of a book on Welsh syntax, and has written extensively on the syntax-morphology interface, and on coordination.

Andrew Spencer is the author of a well-regarded text on morphological theory and has worked extensively on the morphology-syntax interface in a variety of languages.

Facilities : highlight the facilities to which the collaborators have access (in their own laboratories or elsewhere)

Apart from travel/subsitence support, the project requires only the normal infrastructure and facilities required for linguistic research (computational environments for grammar development and testing, electronic corpora, appropriate hardware). Both centres have appropriate facilities for the research, and no access to facilities elsewhere is required.

What will be the role of the young UK researcher(s) involved in the collaboration ?

(Young researchers are defined as those who are studying for a PhD or have completed their PhD less than five years prior to the date of this application)

PhD students at both centres working on topics related to the project will be encouraged to participate in the collaboration, and will be given opportunites to work with researchers visiting their centre.

In particular, the end of year workshop will provide a forum where they can present their work in a supportive atmosphere to an informed audience . This may be especially useful to graduate researchers working in relative isolation elsewhere than in the two centres directly involved in the project

Reason for this particular collaboration : explain briefly why this particular collaboration is desirable and the reason for the choice of partner (please note the UK referee will not see the French applications so it is important to be clear on the benefit of both sides)

The focus of the project is on topics where the participants have special, largely complementary, expertise. There is a history of personal contact between the groups over more than 10 years, as a result of participating in conferences and workshops. The purpose of this project is to exploit this to produce genuinely collaborative joint work. The project is timely both because of the interest the phenomena are currently attracting, and also because the participants' work is at a stage when it is amenable to extension and challenge from the data and analyses available to the members of the other centre.

5 Support for Research

Present and previous support : give brief details (title, value, dates) of national, European or international grants obtained in areas relevant to this proposal over the past five years.Include collaboration with countries other than France, and British Council joint projects with other countries.

Spencer: ESRC - R45126497499. Two-year Research Seminar series Models and Methods in Morphology’, June 2000 - May 2002.

Spencer: British Academy/Leverhulme Trust Senior Research Fellowship (October 2002 - October 2003)

Sadler: ESRC 000 23 0505 "Verb Initial Grammar: A Parallel, Multi-lingual Perspective". (with M.Dalrymple (Kings London). 1/4/04- 1/4/07 291K GBP

Sadler: AHRB AN 10939 "Noun Phrase Agreement and Coordination". (with M.Dalrymple Kings, London). 1/3/04 - 1/4/06 186K GBP

Anticipated future developments : indicate what plans you have to obtain future support and/or to broaden the collaboration should this project be successful.

The possibilities of two kinds of extension will be investigated If the project is successful.

First, the possibility of extension from the individual centres to other regional institutions (for example, the UK partner currently organizes an informal network of researchers on Constraint Based grammar in the SE of England, sucessful collaboration might encourage extension to some elements of this network). If appropriate, funding for this would be sought from the respective national governments through the normal channels for the funding of research infrastructure.

Second, there is the possibility of directly involving third parties, especially those outside the UK and France. Here European (e.g. ESF) funding would be appropriate.

6 Context

Relevance : give a justification for the proposal in terms of industrial or other applications and decribe the role of the project in terms of national, European or international priorities.

There is a widely held view that the development of a number of Language Engineering applications, such as Machine Translation, Text Generation, Automatic Question Answering, Information extraction, requires the development of `high precision' computational grammars. Such grammars necessarily involve descriptions of syntax, semantics, and morphology/lexicon, but to be useful, these separate descriptions must be integrated, and here the issue of interfaces, and hence the phenomena that are the focus of this project, become crucial. From a practical point of view, such grammars can only be produced on the basis of theoretically mature and empirically tested analyses, such as this project is intended to develop. The project can thus be seen as playing a role in the development of the theoretical and descriptive foundations upon which economially and socially important areas of the so-called Language Industries depend.

Previous applications

Please indicate if you, or a member of your team, have applied for Alliance funding in previous years. If yes, please state name of project leader, which year and whether successful.

No member of the team has previously been involved in applications for Alliance funding.

Where/how did you hear of this programme ?

Through University Research Office.

Schedule of projected visit

Please clearly state the year, the destination of the visit, and the number of days per visit per person

Visits by the UK team

Name and Position	Destination and purpose of visit	Anticipated date of visit (month/year)	Anticipated duration of visit in days
Prof Robert Borsley	Paris: Collaboration with Godard, Abeillé, focus Negation/Coordination	March 05	4 days
Dr Doug Arnold	Paris: Collaboration with Godard, focus Relatives	June 05	2 days
Prof Rober Borsley	Paris: Collaboration with Rouveret, focus Relatives	June 05	2 days
Dr Louisa Sadler	Paris: Collaboration with Abeillé, Godard, Rouveret, focus clitics	May 05	2 days
Prof Andrew Spencer	Paris: Collaboration with Abeillé, Godard, Rouveret, focus clitics	May 05	2 days
Dr Doug Arnold	Paris: Collaboration with Abeillé, Godard,focus `lite' constructions	Sept 05	2 days
Dr Louisa Sadler	Paris: Collaboration with Abeillé, Godard,focus `lite' constructions	Sept 05	2 days

Visits by the French team

Name and Position	Destination and purpose of visit	Anticipated date of visit (month/year)	Anticipated duration of visit in days
Dr Danièle Godard	Essex: Collaboration with Borsley, focus on negation	Feb 05	2 days
Prof Alain Rouveret	Essex: Collaboration with Borsley, focus on Relatives	April 05	2 days
Dr Danièle Godard	Essex: Collaboration with Arnold, Sadler, focus `lite' construcitons.	Sept 05	2 days
Prof Anne Abeillé	Essex: Collaboration with Spencer, Sadler, focus clitics.	Oct 05	2 days
Prof Anne Abeillé	Essex: Collaboration with Borsley, focus Coordination	Oct 05	2 days
Prof Alain Rouveret	Essex: End of Year Workshop	Dec 05	2 days
Prof Anne Abeillé	Essex: End of Year Workshop	Dec 05	2 days
Dr Danièle Godard	Essex: End of Year Workshop	Dec 05	2 days

7. Linked proposal

If you wish this proposal to be linked to one (or more) proposal(s) being made by you, or by another UK team, please provide the following details of the linked proposal. (If there is more than one linked proposal, please continue on a separate sheet.)

Project title
	UK team	French team
Project leader
Position
Department
Full address
Telephone
Fax
E-mail
Web page

Please explain briefly the added-value to be derived from linking these projects :

The proposal is not linked to any other proposal.

ANNEX

Curriculum vitae of British project leader. Please copy for each UK team member

Surname Arnold	First Name Douglas
Position Lecturer, Dept. of Language and Linguistics, University of Essex
Academic qualifications PhD, Essex, 1989 MA, Essex (with distinction), 1978 MA Cambridge, 1974
Publications D.J. Arnold Non-Restrictive Relatives in Construction Based HPSG, Proceedings of HPSG-04, Leuven, to appear. D.J. Arnold. Why translation is difficult for computers. In H.L. Somers, editor, Computers and Translation: a handbook for translators. John Benjamins, 2003. D.J. Arnold. World Wide Web access to corpora. Cuadernos de Filologia Inglesa de la Universidad deMurcia, 9(1):125-145, 2000. Pascual Cantos Gomez, editor, ISSN 0213-5485. D.J. Arnold. Parameterizing Lexical Conceptual Structure for Interlingual Machine Translation. Machine Translation, 11(3):217-241, 1996. ISSN 0922-6567. Louisa Sadler and D.J. Arnold. Prenominal adjectives and the phrasal/lexical distinction. Journal ofLinguistics, 30:187-226, 1994. D.J. Arnold, Lorna Balkan, Siety Meijer, R.Lee Humphreys, and Louisa Sadler. Machine Translation: an Introductory Guide. Blackwells-NCC, London, 1994. ISBN: 1855542-17x.
Other activities Arnold has been a lecturer in the Department of Language & Linguistics at Essex since the early 1980s, teaching courses in several areas of theoretical and computational linguistics, notably courses on HPSG, and Computational Linguistics (especially implementation for Constraint Based Linguistic theories). He has been responsible for research grants worth in excess of £2.6 million addressing a variety of issues in Computational Linguistics. He is the author of over thirty articles on various aspects of computational linguistics, syntax and semantics, and maintains a number of linguistics related web pages, including the LAGB and LFG Web pages, pages relating to corpus linguistics, and on-line linguistic bibliographies.