Per Aage Brandt

Grammatical constructions can be variably manifested by linear concatenations of words and therefore must as such be assigned a non-linear constituent structure. Additionally, this structure must reflect framed semantic representations. Besides the prominent verbal constructions, subordinate phrasal compositions of all kinds must equally be assigned a non-linear constituent structure compatible with the dominant constructions. Since these phrasal compositions are often neutral to the dominant constructions and compatible with all of them, there must be a shared structural format that can be variably linearized and that can integrate lexical information to represent semantic scenarial meaning.

            All phrase structure can thus be analyzed as part of a general phrasal format that accounts for nodal constituent compositions. This format is what we call stemmatic syntax; it turns out that a very small set of meaning-bearing nodes (eight) suffice for a meaningful parsing of verbal phrases, nominal phrases, Verbal/nominal-neutral adverbial phrases, adjectival phrases, and clausal embedding – completive, relative, or adverbial. These nodes can roughly be compared to case meanings and to dynamic schemas; they are meaning-invested in so far as they imply specified mental operations of semantic integration.

            The stemmatic format of ‘trans-constructional’ phrasal compositions explains the possibility of blending in syntax. It explains the possibility of language learning – reusing the same stemmatic format for new constructions and new lexical input, while allowing projections from the first acquired language and thereby making ‘meaningful’ errors.

            The theory of stemmatic syntax, or stemmatic construction grammar, makes it possible to configure new language technology for language learning, for automatic parsing, for semantically informed data-mining, for speech synthesis, and for cognitive robotics. Many other applications of in sight, and it is of course important to continue the basic research on the format itself, which is far from being entirely or sufficiently understood.

            Nevertheless, a pilot version of an automatic parser built on stemmatic principles has been produced in our laboratory and already appears to be ready for implementation in such applications. Applied and basic research should go hand in hand in the next phase of this work.

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