Syntax Bush

[flwyd]

Is there a sensible syntax tree for A rose is a rose is a rose? The parse that makes most sense to me is
{a rose is [a rose} is (a rose])
which is not a tree. But the parse
((a rose) is ((a rose) is (a rose)))
is NP is VP at the top level, and that's not generally grammatical (e.g., "Obama is the president lives in the White House").

Comments

[vvvexation.livejournal.com]

Wow. It's weird that the rules of grammar don't actually throw up any red flags when you pull that Frankenstein technique. But now that I think about it, I suppose language is a sufficiently complex formal system for Godel's Incompleteness Theorem to apply, so it would make sense after all that you can construct nonsensical sentences without the rules stopping you.

Where do you hang out IRL these days, anyway? I've been sort of hermiting.

[slyviolet.livejournal.com]

I know, it's one of my favorite things about linguistics -- these bizarre little hiccups that we discover, that show all kinds of unpredictable responses. Brains are so cool.

re: hermiting, I hear you. I have been too, to some extent. I hang my hat in SJ, and have been mucking about all over. It would be great to see you sometime.