A Layered Grammar Model: Using Tree-Adjoining Grammars to Build a Common Syntactic Kernel for Related Dialects

TL;DR

This paper introduces a layered FS-LTAG framework to model a common syntactic core for related dialects, enabling hybrid multidialectal systems without relying on abstract sub-structures.

Contribution

It presents a novel layered grammar model using FS-LTAG that captures multiple dialects within a single unified framework without metagrammar reliance.

Findings

Unified syntactic description for related dialects

Model supports hybrid multidialectal systems

Applicable to West-Atlantic French-based Creoles

Abstract

This article describes the design of a common syntactic description for the core grammar of a group of related dialects. The common description does not rely on an abstract sub-linguistic structure like a metagrammar: it consists in a single FS-LTAG where the actual specific language is included as one of the attributes in the set of attribute types defined for the features. When the lang attribute is instantiated, the selected subset of the grammar is equivalent to the grammar of one dialect. When it is not, we have a model of a hybrid multidialectal linguistic system. This principle is used for a group of creole languages of the West-Atlantic area, namely the French-based Creoles of Haiti, Guadeloupe, Martinique and French Guiana.