Lexical Functional Grammar

Abstract

Lexical functional grammar (LFG) is a theory of language structure dealing with the syntax, morphology, and semantics of natural languages. It is different from other theories in having several parallel representations for sentences, each with its own architecture and vocabulary, subject to its own organizational constraints, and linked by principles of correspondence (mappings), not derived from one another. LFG is thus a constraint−based nonderivational unification model, unlike other generative grammar models such as Principles and Parameters or Relational Grammar. There is an extensive international community of scholars working within an LFG framework; it has been used to describe an impressive array of languages from various families and typological groups. Current research in LFG includes the role of morphology in language structure, semantic representations, and computational implementation, as well as an Optimality Theory-based model of LFG.