Handling Scope in Fluid Construction Grammar: A Case Study for Spanish Modals

Katrien Beuls

Abstract: This paper demonstrates one way how the Spanish epistemic modal system can be implemented in Fluid Construction Grammar. Spanish is a Romance language with a rich morpho-phonological system that is characterized by paradigmatic stem changes, a considerable degree of syncretism in verbal suffixes and a sophisticated usage of modal markers. Because the choice of mood does not only depend on the linguistic expression that is used (e.g. ”probablemente”, ”creo que ...”), but also on the position of such expression in the utterance and its scope, the processing engine needs to be flexible enough to capture these conditions. The formal implementation of the Spanish conjugational paradigm with special focus on syncretic markers forms a prerequisite for the processing of verbal mood and modal expressions.