Response to Ellen Prince

Matthew S Dryer dryer at ACSU.BUFFALO.EDU
Mon Jan 6 04:57:57 UTC 1997


Ellen Prince says

>>i'm quite perplexed by matthew dryer's claim that people don't
parse
>>they just interpret

I did not intend to imply this.  I do believe that people parse, and
that part of the process involves identifying syntactic structure.

My point is that the process of parsing involves the identification
of syntactic structure only as a means for determining the meaning,
that the identification of syntactic structure per se is of no value
as an end in itself, and that the real test of a parser is its
ability to identify meaning in context, something that can only be
tested by incorporating it in a system that can engage in
conversation.

In fact, not only do I believe that part of the process of parsing
involves the identification of syntactic structure, but I believe
that that is why languages have syntax.  Some functionalists
question the reality of syntax, largely, I suspect, because they
don't see what function it would serve.  Under my view, syntax makes
the process of interpreting sentences easier than it otherwise would
be, because the identification of syntactic structure assists in
identifying the meaning.  While I believe that pragmatic inference
also plays a very significant role in interpretation, syntax allows
some of the task of interpretation to be done in a simpler more
automated fashion, reducing what might otherwise be an overwhelming
demand on pragmatic inference.

Matthew Dryer



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