Default representation in constraint-based frameworks
Alex Lascarides, Ann Copestake · 1999
Default unication has been used in several linguistic applications. Most of them have utilized defaults at a meta-level, as part of an extended description language. We propose that allowing default unication to be a fully integrated part of a typed feature structure system requires default unication to be a binary, order independent function, so that it acquires the perspicuity and declarativity familiar from normal unication-based frame-works. Furthermore, in order to respect the behavior of defaults, default unication should allow default reentrancies and values on more general types to be overridden by con icting default information on more specic types. We dene what we believe is the rst version of default unication to fully satisfy these criteria, and argue that it can improve the representation of a range of phenomena in syntax, semantics and the lexico-pragmatic interface. 1.