In this paper, we propose a classification of grammar development strategies according to two criteria : hand-written versus automatically acquired grammars, and grammars based on a low versus high level of syntactic abstraction. Our classification yields four types of grammars. For each type, we discuss implementation and evaluation issues.

We present an initial investigation into the use of a metagrammar for explicitly sharing abstract grammatical specifications among languages. We define a single class hierarchy for a metagrammar which allows us to automatically generate grammars for different languages from a single compact metagrammar hierarchy. We use as our linguistic example the verbsecond phenomenon, which shows considerable variation while retaining a basic property, namely the fact that the verb can appear in one of two positions in the clause.

This paper addresses the issue of embedded zu-infinitival clauses in German from the

This paper presents a framework for compactly describing word forms in terms of phonological features. Using a highly modular default-inheritance based approach, the framework supports the description of lexical generalisations traditionally modelled as morphology and phonology in a single phonology-based representation. This representation is more uniform and more detailed than previous approaches of this kind, allowing us to capture generalisations within a language and between related language elegantly and flexibly. The framework is illustrated with examples taken from English, German, Dutch and Danish. 1.