Author: Dalrymple, Mary and Ronald M. Kaplan

Date: April 28, 2000

Title: Feature Indeterminacy and Feature Resolution

Email: dalrymple@parc.xerox.com

Format: Postscript

Remarks: Final version, April 2000

Abstract: In description-based grammatical theories such as Lexical
Functional Grammar and Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar, features
like CASE, PERS, and GEND are often assumed to have simple atomic
values that are checked for consistency by the standard predicate of
equality.  The CASE feature has values such as NOM or ACC, and values
like MASC and FEM are assumed for the feature GEND.  However, such a
view does not square with some of the complex behavior that these
features exhibit.  It allows no obvious account of feature
indeterminacy (how a particular form can satisfy conflicting
requirements on a feature like CASE), nor does it give an obvious
account of feature resolution (how PERS and GEND features of a
coordinate noun phrase are determined on the basis of the conjuncts).
We present a theory of feature representation and feature checking
which solves these two problems.  It provides a straightforward
characterization of feature indeterminacy and feature resolution while
sticking to structures and standard interpretations that have
independent motivation.  Our theory of features is formulated within
the LFG framework, but we believe that similar solutions can be
developed within other description-based syntactic approaches.