Anchoring a Lexicalized Tree-Adjoining Grammar for Discourse

Abstract

We here explore a "fully" lexicalized Tree-Adjoining Grammar for discourse that takes the basic elements of a (monologic) discourse to be not simply clauses, but larger structures that are anchored on variously realized discourse cues. This link with intra-sentential grammar suggests an account for different patterns of discourse cues, while the different structures and operations suggest three separate sources for elements of discourse meaning: (1) a compositional semantics tied to the basic trees and operations; (2) a presuppositional semantics carried by cue phrases that freely adjoin to trees; and (3) general inference, that draws additional, defeasible conclusions that flesh out what is conveyed compositionally. 1 Introduction In the past few years, researchers interested in accounting for how elements combine in a discourse, have taken to using the adjoining operation found in Tree-Adjoining Grammar (TAG) (Gardent, 1994; Gardent, 1997; Polanyi and van den Berg, 1996; Schilder,...