UCxn: Typologically Informed Annotation of Constructions Atop Universal Dependencies

Temel Kavramlar

Augmenting UD annotations with a "UCxn" layer for meaning-bearing grammatical constructions in a typologically informed way.

Özet

Introduction

Importance of constructions in grammar.
Comparison of WH-interrogatives in English and Coptic.

Methodology

Selection of constructions for crosslinguistic comparison.
Challenges in identifying and annotating constructions.

Interrogatives

Strategies for identifying interrogatives.
Challenges in distinguishing interrogatives from exclamations.

Existentials

Variability in existential predicates across languages.
Challenges in identifying existential constructions.

Conditionals

Strategies for expressing conditional constructions.
Difficulties in accurately retrieving conditional sentences.

Resultatives

Challenges in defining and annotating resultative constructions.
Differences in expressing resultatives across languages.

NPN

Semantic subcategories of NPN strategies.
Challenges in annotating NPN constructions.

Survey Summary

Quantitative and qualitative summary of identified construction instances.
Issues encountered in the annotation process.

Conclusion and Future Work

Feasibility of annotating constructions in UD treebanks.
Plans for scaling up the approach to more languages and constructions.

İstatistikler

The Universal Dependencies (UD) project has contributions in over 140 languages.
The UD annotations do not capture holistic constructions.
The UCxn framework aims to enrich UD annotations with meaning-bearing constructions.
The study covers five construction families in ten languages.
The UCxn layer is incorporated directly into CoNLL-U files.

Alıntılar

"Construction annotations may be used to improve the intra- and interlingual consistency of UD guidelines and data."
"Efforts such as ours can reveal constructions that need further linguistic investigation."
"Annotating constructions is feasible with a mix of automatic and manual efforts."

Önemli Bilgiler Şuradan Elde Edildi

UCxn

by Leon... : arxiv.org 03-27-2024

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2403.17748.pdf

Daha Derin Sorular

How can the UCxn framework be extended to include more languages and constructions?

To extend the UCxn framework to include more languages and constructions, a systematic approach is required. Firstly, it is essential to collaborate with linguists proficient in the target languages to identify construction patterns and strategies unique to each language. This collaboration will ensure the development of accurate and language-specific annotation rules. Additionally, leveraging existing resources such as language-specific Constructicons can provide valuable insights into the constructions prevalent in different languages.
Furthermore, the development of a comprehensive set of queries for each construction type based on typological principles will be crucial. These queries should be designed to capture the morphosyntactic patterns indicative of each construction, ensuring a consistent and systematic approach to annotation across languages. Regular feedback and validation from linguistic experts and the computational linguistics community will also be essential to refine and expand the UCxn framework effectively.

What are the implications of the UCxn annotations for crosslinguistic studies in computational linguistics?

The UCxn annotations have significant implications for crosslinguistic studies in computational linguistics. By enriching Universal Dependencies (UD) treebanks with constructional annotations, researchers gain access to a wealth of data on meaning-bearing grammatical constructions across multiple languages. This enriched data enables comparative analyses of constructional phenomena, facilitating typological studies and deeper insights into language-specific and language-general construction patterns.
Moreover, the UCxn annotations provide a foundation for developing more advanced natural language processing tools and models. These annotations can enhance the accuracy of syntactic and semantic parsing, information extraction, and machine translation systems by incorporating a deeper understanding of constructional diversity across languages. Additionally, the annotations can support research in language acquisition, cognitive linguistics, and language processing, offering valuable resources for studying language universals and idiosyncrasies.

How can the challenges in annotating constructions be addressed to improve the accuracy and consistency of UD annotations?

Addressing the challenges in annotating constructions to enhance the accuracy and consistency of UD annotations requires a multi-faceted approach. Firstly, refining the annotation guidelines to include specific instructions for identifying and labeling constructions will be crucial. This may involve creating a standardized framework for annotating construction instances, defining clear criteria for each construction type, and providing examples for reference.
Secondly, leveraging advanced computational tools and algorithms, such as pattern matching techniques and machine learning models, can aid in automating the annotation process. Developing custom scripts or software applications that can identify constructional patterns in text data and annotate them accordingly can streamline the annotation workflow and improve efficiency.
Additionally, fostering collaboration between computational linguists, typologists, and language experts can help address ambiguities and edge cases in construction annotation. Regular discussions, workshops, and peer reviews can ensure that the annotations are consistent, accurate, and reflective of the diverse constructional patterns present in different languages. Continuous validation and refinement of the annotation guidelines based on feedback from the linguistic community will be essential to maintain the quality and reliability of UD annotations.