A Geração de Língua Natural (GLN) ocupa-se de atribuir forma lingüística a dados em representação não-lingüística (Reiter & Dale, 2000); a Realização Lingüística (RL), por sua vez, reúne as subtarefas da GLN estritamente dependentes das especificidades da língua-alvo. Este trabalho objetiva a investigação em RL, uma de cujas aplicações mais proeminentes é a construção de módulos geradores de língua-alvo na tradução automática baseada em transferência semântica. Partimos da identificação de três requisitos fundamentais para modelos de RL quais sejam generalidade, instanciabilidade e complexidade e da tensão entre esses requisitos no estado da arte. Argumentamos pela relevância da avaliação formal dos modelos da literatura contra esses critérios e focalizamos em modelos baseados em restrições (Schulte, 2002) como promissores para reconciliar os três requisitos. Nesta classe de modelos, identificamos o recente modelo de Debusmann (2006) Extensible Dependency Grammar (XDG) e sua implementação - o XDG Development Toolkit (XDK) - como uma plataforma especialmente promissora para o desenvolvimento em RL, apesar de jamais utilizada para tal. Nossas contribuições práticas se resumem ao esforço de tornar o XDK mais eficiente e uma formulação da disjunção inerente à lexicalização adequada à XDG, demonstrando suas potenciais vantagens numa sistema de GLN mais completo / Natural Language Generation (NLG) concerns assigning linguistic form to data in nonlinguistic representation (Reiter & Dale, 2000); Linguistic Realization (LR), in turn, comprises all strictly target language-dependent NLG tasks. This work looks into RL systems from the perspective of three fundamental requirements - namely generality, instantiability, and complexity and the tension between them in the state of the art. We argue for the formal evaluation of models against these criteria and focus on constraint-based models (Schulte, 2002) as tools to reconcile them. In this class of models we identify the recent development of Debusmann (2006) - Extensible Dependency Grammar (XDG) - and its implementation - the XDG Development Toolkit (XDK) - as an especially promising platform for RL work, in spite of never having been used as such. Our practical contributions comprehend a successful effort to make the XDK more efficient and a formulation of lexicalization disjunction suitable to XDG, illustrating its potential advantages in a full-fledged NLG system

Text in Afrikaans / Twee sentrale probleme word hier ondersoek, naamlik die daarstelling van 'n teoreties adekwate model om leksikale valensie te verreken en die problematiek rondom die beskrywing van Afrikaanse bewegingswerkwoorde. Die vertrekpunt is dat 'n teorie van UG lesikale valensie slegs ten dele verreken. So 'n teorie is gemoeid met die vorm van 'n konstruksie wat op LF-vlak leesbaar is. Gevolglik beskryf 'n teorie van UG valensie net in universele sintakties-kategoriale terme. In hierdie studie word die semantiese en pragmatiese komponente van 'n valensieteorie derhalwe uitgebou sodat daar 'n duideliker begrip verkry kan word van die wisselwerking tussen alle veranderlikes van valensie op 'n taalspesifieke LF-vlak. 'n Valensieteorie word op eklektiese wyse saamgestel uit verskeie ander teoriee. Die apparaat om die sintaktiese komponent van 'n valensieteorie te beskryf, word aan TGGmodelle ontleen. Die semantiese komponent van die teorie word aangevul vanuit die Konseptuele Semantiek en die pragmatiese komponent daarvan vanui t kogni ti ewe grammatikamodelle. Die interaksie tussen hierdie komponente word verreken deur teoriee van leksikalisasie, korrespondensiereels en die passing tussen konstruksies en leksikale items. Die ontleding van Afrikaanse bewegingswerkwoorde spesif iseer die omvattender anali tiese apparaat wat nodig is vir die verrekening van valensie verby die punt waarvoor 'n teorie van UG voorsiening maak. Dit blyk uit hierdie analise dat die valensie van die kategorie in 'n aantal valensieraambeskrywings vir die aparte subklasse saamgevat kan word. 'n Duidelike beeld van die universele en taalspesifiekidiosinkratiese aspekte van hierdie kategorie kan in terme van hierdie valensierame aangetoon word. 'n Verdere hipotese (die onakkusatiwiteithipotese) is dat die sintaktiese verspreiding van werkwoorde ui t hulle semantiek voorspel kan word. Hierdie hipotese word getoets aan die empiriese data van Afrikaanse bewegingswerkwoorde. Hierdie bewegingswerkwoorde word in groepe geklassifiseer na gelang van ooreenstemmende semanties-pragmatiese kenmerke. Daar word getoon dat bewegingswerkwoorde met dieself de semantiespragmatiese kenmerke dieselfde valensierame het. Valensierame is daarom op sistematiese wyse uit semanties-pragmatiese kenmerke afleibaar. Sekere fasette van valensierame word egter ook bepaal deur konvensies soos profilering, en deur bereelde interaksie met 'n basiese konstruksie se argumentstruktuur. / This thesis focuses on the development of a theoretically adequate model to account for lexical valence and to provide the detail for such a model by means of an analysis of Afrikaans verbs of motion. The thesis is a response to a theory of UG which inadequately accounts for lexical valence. A theory of UG is concerned with the universal syntactic form of a construction that is legible on LF level. It therefore describes valence in universal syntactic-categorial terms only. This thesis develops the semantic and pragmatic components of a theory of valence in order that a clearer understanding may be gained of the interaction between all the variables of valence on a language specific LF level. A theory of valence is construed eclectically from several other theories. TGG models provide the methods used to describe the syntactic component of a theory of valence. Conceptual Semantics contributes to the development of the semantic component, and models of cognitive grammar to the pragmatic component. The interaction between these components is explained by theories of lexicalisation, rules of correspondence and the fusion of constructions and lexical items. The analysis of Afrikaans verbs of motion provides the comprehensive set of analytical devices required to account for valence beyond the point of LF. From this analysis it emerges that the valence of this category can be summarized in a finite number of frames of valence for distinct classes within the category. 'n Clear understanding of the universal and language specific aspects of this category is achieved by means of these frames of valence. A further hypothesis (the unaccusativity hypothesis) posits that the syntactic distribution of verbs can be predicted from their semantics. This hypothesis is tested by means of empirical data of Afrikaans verbs of motion. These verbs are classified according to similar semantic-pragmatic features. It is shown that verbs of motion with the same semanticpragmatic features share frames of valence. These frames thus are deducible systematically from semantic-pragmatic features. Certain aspects of frames of valence, however, are determined by conventions such as profiling and the regulated interaction between verbs and constructions. / Afrikaans / D.Litt. et Phil. (Afrikaans)

A Geração de Língua Natural (GLN) ocupa-se de atribuir forma lingüística a dados em representação não-lingüística (Reiter & Dale, 2000); a Realização Lingüística (RL), por sua vez, reúne as subtarefas da GLN estritamente dependentes das especificidades da língua-alvo. Este trabalho objetiva a investigação em RL, uma de cujas aplicações mais proeminentes é a construção de módulos geradores de língua-alvo na tradução automática baseada em transferência semântica. Partimos da identificação de três requisitos fundamentais para modelos de RL quais sejam generalidade, instanciabilidade e complexidade e da tensão entre esses requisitos no estado da arte. Argumentamos pela relevância da avaliação formal dos modelos da literatura contra esses critérios e focalizamos em modelos baseados em restrições (Schulte, 2002) como promissores para reconciliar os três requisitos. Nesta classe de modelos, identificamos o recente modelo de Debusmann (2006) Extensible Dependency Grammar (XDG) e sua implementação - o XDG Development Toolkit (XDK) - como uma plataforma especialmente promissora para o desenvolvimento em RL, apesar de jamais utilizada para tal. Nossas contribuições práticas se resumem ao esforço de tornar o XDK mais eficiente e uma formulação da disjunção inerente à lexicalização adequada à XDG, demonstrando suas potenciais vantagens numa sistema de GLN mais completo / Natural Language Generation (NLG) concerns assigning linguistic form to data in nonlinguistic representation (Reiter & Dale, 2000); Linguistic Realization (LR), in turn, comprises all strictly target language-dependent NLG tasks. This work looks into RL systems from the perspective of three fundamental requirements - namely generality, instantiability, and complexity and the tension between them in the state of the art. We argue for the formal evaluation of models against these criteria and focus on constraint-based models (Schulte, 2002) as tools to reconcile them. In this class of models we identify the recent development of Debusmann (2006) - Extensible Dependency Grammar (XDG) - and its implementation - the XDG Development Toolkit (XDK) - as an especially promising platform for RL work, in spite of never having been used as such. Our practical contributions comprehend a successful effort to make the XDK more efficient and a formulation of lexicalization disjunction suitable to XDG, illustrating its potential advantages in a full-fledged NLG system

This essay surveys the current theoretical landscape of modern linguistics, asking whethe generative and possibly transformational linguistics can be applied to syntactic analysis of New Testament texts written in Koine Greek to find lingual hallmarks in the form of personal usage of syntactic rules that uniquely identify the authors of the texts. The conclusion is that there seems to be evidence that an application of a minimalist approach could make the detection of such lingual hallmarks possible.