Linguistic Constraint Systems as General Soft Constraint Satisfaction

Abstract

This paper proposes that linguistic constraint satisfaction can be viewed as an instance of general human soft constraint satisfaction. After a discussion on the relation between modularity in grammar and soft constraints and a review of the conceptions of gradient phenomena in language, the paper presents a generalized theory of soft constraint satisfaction from the AI literature (Bistarelli 2001). It then shows that a unifying underlying theory of constraint satisfaction allows us to bring different constraint-based linguistic theories (e.g., LOT and HPSG) closer together as well as account for certain gradient phenomena straightforwardly.