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A generic framework for Arabic to English machine ... - Acsu Buffalo

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3.3 Noun phrase structure<br />

Figure 3.7: <strong>Arabic</strong> LSC<br />

3.3. NOUN PHRASE STRUCTURE<br />

Noun phrases refer, while clauses predicate, and yet there are striking parallels between<br />

the structure of the two which have long been noted. For example, both can be said <strong>to</strong><br />

have arguments; while this is obvious in the case of verbs in clauses, it is also clear that<br />

relational nouns like father, friend and sister can take what could be analyzed as argu-<br />

ments, e.g. father of James / James’s father, a friend of Khalid / Khalid’s friend and the<br />

other sister of Sarah / Sarah’s other sister. Clauses sometimes have clauses within them<br />

as arguments, as in Zaid believed that pollution isn’t a problem, and the same is true of<br />

NPs, e.g. Zaid’s belief that pollution isn’t a problem. Given these parallels, it would be<br />

36

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