Rapid Prototyping of Scalable Grammars: Towards Modularity in Extensions to a Language-Independent Core

Abstract

We present a new way to simplify the construction of precise broad-coverage grammars, employing typologicallymotivated, customizable extensions to a language-independent core grammar. Each ‘module ’ represents a salient dimension of cross-linguistic variation, and presents the grammar developer with simple choices that result in automatically generated language-specific software. We illustrate the approach for several phenomena and explore the interdependence of the modules. 1