Defaults in HPSG

[Viktor Tron]

Dear all on the list,

I was wondering what the precise role of defaults in HPSG could be
(for instance as it is utilized in Ginzburg&Sag's book).
Are they just grammar writing devices that are eliminated
during a compilation of a grammar and only serve to express
generalizations in a more elegant way?
Or do they have alternative interpretation having significance in
on-line calculations as well? I would be greatful if you could clarify
this issue to me or point me to literature on this.
I'd be glad to read your personal opinion if defaults are
necessary, natural, useful, harmless, pointless, etc. in an HPSG
framework.

Thank you,
Viktor

Viktor Tron, PhD student
Europäisches Graduiertenkolleg               www.coli.uni-sb.de/egk
Dept of Computational Linguistics            www.coli.uni-sb.de
Saarland University (Saarbruecken, Germany)  www.uni-saarland.de
University of Edinburgh (Scotland, UK)       www.ed.ac.uk
use LINUX and FREE Software                  www.linux.org
tron at coli.uni-sb.de                          49.681.302-3829