scope:

This International Standard describes the Syntactic Annotation Framework (SynAF), a high level model for representing the syntactic annotation of textual documents. SynAF is building on the ISO MAF proposal (CD 24611). MAF (Morpho-Syntactic Framework) is dealing with the morpho-syntactic annotation of specific segments of textual documents. The morpho-syntactic annotation framework is about part of speech (noun, adjective, verb, etc.), morphological and grammatical features (such as number, gender, person, mood, verbal tense). SynAF is about the annotation of the syntactic constituency of such (groups of) morphosyntactically annotated fragments and the syntactic dependency relations existing between those (groups of) morpho-syntactically annotated fragments. We consider that the sentence will define the boundaries of the fragments of textual documents to which SynAF will apply. As suggested just above, syntactic annotation has at least two functions in language processing: 1) To represent linguistic constituencies, like Noun Phrases (NP), describing a structured sequence of morpho-syntactically annotated items (but SynAF is also designed for dealing with like empty elements or traces generated by movements at the constituency level), where we consider also constituents built from noncontiguous elements, and 2) To represent dependency relations, like head-modifier relation, Including also relations between same categories, like the head-head relation between nouns in appostions or nominal coordinations. The dependency information can exist between morpho-syntactically annotated items within a phrase (an adjective is the modifier of the head noun within an NP) or describe a specific relation between syntactic constituents at the clausal and sentential level (i.e. an NP being the "subject" of the main verb of a clause or sentence). The dependency relation can also be stated including empty elements (like the pro-drop property in romance languages, see also ) SynAF is dealing with the description of a metamodel for syntactic annotation, which means that SynAF will describe elementary linguistic (in fact syntactic) abstractions that support the construction and the interoperability of (syntactic) annotations and resources. The Thematic Domain Group 4 (TDG 4) "Syntax" associated to SynAF will propose the definition of the related data categories, which will represent a point of reference for particular tagsets used for the syntactic annotation of various languages, also in the context of various application scenarios. To summarize: SynAF is concerned with a metamodel that covers both dimensions of syntactic constituency and dependency, and SynAF will propose a multi-layered annotation framework that allows the combined and interrelated annotation of language data along both lines of consideration. Also the data-categories to be proposed within TDG4 will be about the basic annotation concerning both dimensions. This standard is designed to be used in close conjunction with the metamodel presented in ISO AWI 24612, Linguistic Annotation Framework (LAF) and with ISO 12620, Terminology and other language resources I Data categories.