Study of Noun Phrase in Urdu

Aasim Ali, Mohammad Kamran, Shahid Siddiq

Sarmad Hussain
Abstract
This paper presents discussion of internal structure of Noun Phrase (NP) in Urdu. t also proposes a
computational !rammar usin! "#$ ("e%ical #unctional $rammar) formalism.
Introduction
As in other lan!ua!es, Noun Phrase ( &'(()* +((,-./ , NP) in Urdu also ran!es from a sin!le 0ord to
(theoreticall1) an infinitel1 lon! construction comprisin! other phrases as its constituents. NP ma1
contain a num2er of 0ord classes and phrases includin! pronouns, ad3ecti4es, nouns and quantifiers. t is
important to find out the e%act rules 0hich !o4ern ho0 NP ma1 2e formed in Urdu and 0hen these
constructions are licensed. This is not onl1 important to understand the !rammar of Urdu 2ut also
essential for de4elopin! the computational models of the lan!ua!e. 5ase Phrase (KP
6
) in Urdu is formed
21 simpl1 an NP or NP follo0ed 21 5ase Mar7er, cm). KP (and thus NP) forms fundamental ar!ument
for other constituent structures, includin! a Sentence (S) and 8er2 Phrase (8P). The 4ariet1 in 0hich NP
ma1 2e constructed in addition to its frequent usa!e in formin! or parsin! Urdu !rammar ma7es it an
essential topic of further in4esti!ation.
8arious aspects of construction of NP in Urdu ha4e 2een addressed 21 man1 !rammar 2oo7s of Urdu.
The current 0or7 loo7s at these anal1ses in con3unction 0ith the requirements for Urdu !rammar from the
corpus of Urdu te%t to assess and e%tend the 0or7. Anal1sis of different authors is discussed and
e4entuall1 a formal set of rules for anal19in! NP of Urdu is de4eloped. Part of the pu2lished material on
Urdu !rammar is a4aila2le onl1 in Urdu hence the translation of the terminolo!1 used in such te%t is also
presented in this paper. Ho0e4er, 0hen e%act :n!lish translation is not found in the literature, then most
concei4a2le translation (as apparent from its definition and illustration !i4en in that te%t) is pro4ided
instead of mere transliteration, so that the reader ma1 reali9e the underl1in! concept and meanin!. "e%ical
#unctional $rammar ("#$) frame0or7 is used to reali9e these rules. ;ther formalisms can also 2e used,
and the choice of "#$ is ar2itrar1.
Ne%t section 4isits the literature< the su2sequent section sho0s the anal1sis and topic=0ise se!ments of
the computational !rammar presented in this paper. Then, there is a comparati4e anal1sis of the literature
and current 0or7.
Literature Review
This section starts 0ith identif1in! the scope of 0or7, then after re4ie0in! elementar1 constituents of NP,
the phrasal constituents are loo7ed at, in this section of the paper.
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Since 5P is more !enerall1 7no0n as a22re4iation for other term 5omplementi9er Phrase, hence KP is used here as
a22re4iation for 5ase Phrase, to a4oid confusion. >6?@ has also used KP to a22re4iate 5ase Phrase.
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Scope of this paper
This paper studies NP construction for the purpose of computation !rammar for Urdu. The NP can
contain clauses, other phrases, and elementar1 items as its constituent. Some constituents (phrases and
clauses) of NP also ha4e the a2ilit1 of ta7in! NP as their constituent (relati4e clause, postpositional
phrase, and case phrase etc.)< 0hile others al0a1s appear at a su2ordinatin! position of NP (e.!. noun,
pronoun, numeral, non=4er2al ad3ecti4e). This paper focuses on such su2ordinatin! items onl1, 2ecause
each of other constructions requires its separate stud1 and anal1sis. Therefore, !eniti4e pronoun and
4er2al ad3ecti4es are also not included in this paper. Handlin! of the coordinate con3unction of NP and
ad3ecti4es is also included in the current !rammar.
Elementary Items
This section re4ie0s the literature a4aila2le on elementar1 constituents of the NP.
The Noun !"#$
;%ford :n!lish Eictionar1 (httpFGG000.oed.com) descri2es Noun as HA 0ord used as the name or
desi!nation of a person, place, or thin!< the class or cate!or1 of such 0ords.I JordNet (6KKL) defines
noun semanticall1 as Ha content 0ord that can 2e used to refer to a person, place, thin!, qualit1, or
actionI, or functionall1 as Hthe 0ord class that can ser4e as the su23ect or o23ect of a 4er2, the o23ect of a
preposition, or in apposition.I Nouns are !enerall1 di4ided into man1 su2=classes, 0hich include common
4s. proper nouns, and mass 4s. counta2le nouns (e.!. see >Aurafs71@). #urther su2=classes ma1 also 2e
defined 2ased on s1ntactic, !rammatical or semantic roles of different nouns. Urdu !rammarians ha4e
also su2=classified the nouns, 0hich are discussed 2elo0.
Haq M. (6KLM) di4ides the nouns in t0o main classes, proper ( N)* OPQ ) and common ( N)* RPS ). Proper
nouns are further di4ided into four su2=classes, title (TPUQ), attri2uti4e name (+VW), alias (X.S) and nom=
de=plume (YZ[\/), and common nouns are su2=classified as state (],^,-), collecti4e (_'`), locati4e (X.a)
and instrumental ( Wb ) nouns. Haq further di4ides the locati4e noun into nouns 0hich represent a HlocationI
in space ( Xc .a Pde ) and time ( Xc .a Pef ).
Aa4ed smat (6KL6) di4ides the nouns flatl1 into fi4e t1pes, common ( RPS), proper (OPQ), collecti4e (_'`),
a2stract (g.he) and mass (or non=counta2le, .,i jkP'l , also referred to as material, gPe ) nouns. Platts T.
(6KDK) does not e%plicitl1 discuss the t1pes, 2ut di4ides nouns into fi4e classes 2ased on morpholo!ical
2eha4ior. He lists a2stract nouns, nouns of a!enc1 or attri2utes or possession or appellations, nouns of
place, diminuti4e nouns and compounds.
Siddiqui Er. (6KM6) presents the most comprehensi4e classification of nouns. He di4ides the classification
on the 2asis of structure (]QP)), nature (],[Smn) and other. The classification on the 2asis of structure (
]QP)) is as follo0sF
a. Primiti4e (neither deri4ed nor deri4a2le) Noun ( N)* oeP` ), 0hich is su2=classified as
proper (OPQ) and common (RPS) nouns. The proper nouns are further su2=cate!ori9ed as title (TPUQ),
Appellation or Attri2uti4e Name (+VW), Alias (X.S), nom=de=plume (YZ[\/) and 7inship (],[p-q ). The
common nouns are su2=cate!ori9ed as state (],^,-) and collecti4e (_'`) nouns.
2. 8er2al Noun ( N)* kore ), 0hich is the infiniti4e and !erund form of 4er2, and !enerall1
used as noun. The deri4ational noun 2elo0 is deri4ed from 4er2al noun.
c. Eeri4ational Noun ( N)* stue ), 0hich is su2=classified into su23ect (vSPw), o23ect (
xmy^e), present ( ,WPz ), de4er2al ( v{Pz kore ), 0a!e ( |}Pye , name of the pa1ment deri4ed from the name
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of the 0or7 for 0hich the pa1ment is due), locati4e (X.a, includes locati4e in HtimeI Xc .a Pef and in
HspaceI Xc .a Pde ), and instrumental ( Wb ) nouns.
The classification of nouns accordin! to nature (],[Smn) is as su2stanti4e (Xm{me), qualit1 (]^{) nouns
and pronouns (.,'|). #inall1, Siddiqui lists other classes of nouns as sound (~m{), indefinite ( Pp- ),
relati4e (xm{me), interro!ati4e (RP ^t)* ), numeral (goS), comparati4e (v,^/) and e%a!!erati4e ( WPe ) nouns.
(Schmidt, ". 6KKK) and (Platts, T., 6KDK) ha4e not carried out hierarchical cate!ori9ation of noun in this
0a1, the1 ha4e studied the phenomenon of their morpholo!ical construction.
Siddiqui, Er. (6KM6) has sho0n some cate!ories of noun 0ithout em2eddin! them into the hierarch1 of
main t1pes, 4i9. sound noun ( N)* ~m{ , names for sounds of animals or machines etc.), indefinite pronoun
( N)* Pp- , the translation is referred from (Platts, T., 6KDK) on the 2asis of description and illustrations of
indefinite pronouns (translated 21 Platts as P')* .d,p/ ) !i4en therein, includes 0ordsF &m- (an1) and -
(some)), relati4e pronoun ( N)* xm{me ), interro!ati4e pronoun ( N)* RP ^t)* ), cardinal ( N)* goS ), comparati4e
ad3ecti4e ( N)* v,^/ ), intensit1 ad3ecti4e ( N)* WPe ), and demonstrati4e pronoun ( N)* kPl* ). 5ardinal are
discussed in numeral phrase< indefinite pronoun, interro!ati4e pronoun, and demonstrati4e pronoun are
discussed in pronouns< and comparati4e ad3ecti4e and intensit1 ad3ecti4e are discussed under ad3ecti4e
phrase.
As can 2e seen, different authors ha4e done different classifications. These classifications are 2ased on
morpho=phonolo!ical, s1ntactic and semantic 2eha4ior of nouns.
Proper noun and common noun are the most common set (or su2set) of t1pes (noted in all the referenced
te%ts). Urdu has no indication in the script to identif1 the proper noun (as opposed to the capitali9ation in
:n!lish), 2ut the !rammatical distinction e%ists. Proper noun does not ta7e plural declension 0hile
common noun does, in !eneral. There are special uses of proper noun 0hen it is not 2eha4in! t1picall1F
)Haq, M. 6KLM) } Y\l p* ]} P- >N/Pz@ HThat person is Haatam of his da1s.I
(Haq, M. 6KLM) } op >Nt)k@ HHe is Rustam of Hind.I
(Aa4ed, smat, 6KL6) b v- *o, >N/Pz@ , n /m HThese da1s Haatams are not 2orneI
Haq, M. (6KLM) and Siddiqui, Er. (6KM6) ha4e also noted this e%ceptional usa!e of proper noun.
n the a2o4e mentioned usa!e, proper noun is used to refer to some propert1, state, or feature in the
conte%t, therefore, Haq, M. (6KLM) has called it ad3ecti4e. Aa4ed, smat, (6KL6) has not !i4en it an1
specific name ho0e4er he 0rites that 0hene4er a proper noun is used in metaphoric 2eha4ior, it starts
acceptin! plural as does the common noun. Siddiqui, Er. (6KM6) has called such an instance of proper
noun as ad3ecti4e (2ecause it is si!nif1in! some attri2ute of the entit1 o0nin! this proper noun) , for its
2ein! the su2=t1pe of !enerali9ed noun ( N)* .dn , a proper noun made common throu!h .,dp/, Ara2ic 0ord
for generalization, so it can 2e termed !enerali9ed noun, henceforth), 3ustifies it 21 distin!uishin! it from
re!ular common noun.
The nfiniti4e form of 8er2 in Urdu mostl1 2eha4es as noun entr1 (and sometimes as a 4er2 to sho0 the
aspect of necessit1. Platts T. (6KDK) has used 2oth la2els (nfiniti4e and 8er2al Noun) to refer to this t1pe.
Platts T. (6KDK) has also mentioned that $erund in Urdu also has the same shape (as of nfiniti4e) and
2eha4es as 8er2al Noun.
Aa4ed, smat, (6KL6) has stated Non=5ount Noun and its s1non1m N)* gPe , 0hich ma1 2e translated as
Material Noun or Mass Noun, to 2e the same concept. uir7, Bandolph, et el. (6KL) ha4e defined
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Material Noun as somethin! that is used as in!redient of other product (made ofGfrom the former), for
e%ampleF
This cake is made with lot of [eggs]. A bracelet of [solid gold]. A man of [steel].
The first e%ample indicatin! HeggsI as Material Noun is apparentl1 contradictin! 0ith the definition of
Non=5ount Noun, 2ut the other side of the picture is that the e%ample of m , (0heat) as Non=5ount
Noun seems apparentl1 uncounta2le 2ecause of the si9e of each !rain in proportion to their num2er,
0hich someho0 3ustifies the HeggsI especiall1 in a 2ul7 quantit1 (or ma1 2e 0hen the num2er is not
7no0n). Aa4ed, smat, (6KL6) is the onl1 !rammar 0riter 0ho has noted this 7ind of the Noun. An
important propert1 of this t1pe of noun is that the1 do not accept Numeral Ad3ecti4e< rather the1 are
measured in quantit1 so the1 accept uantif1in! Ad3ecti4e (a.7.a. uantifier). Ne4ertheless, this 7ind is
4er1 important and useful to separate from other nouns especiall1 0hen focusin! on computational
aspects for the sa7e of a!reement 0ith conte%t (in terms of selection of one of the t0o, Numeral and
uantifier).
Ho0e4er, it is also o2ser4ed that H }g &WP, P I (t0o cups of tea) is shortened to H }g P I (t0o teas). Here
the measurement unit is presumed to 2e H&WP,I, 2ecause of the nature of su2stance in question, and the
mindset of the participants of con4ersation. n such uses of Numerals (0ith Non=5ount Noun) conte%t is
4er1 important, for e%ample H }g x}P I (t0o rice) ma1 refer to H }g ,Z x}P I (t0o plates of rice) or H }g WP,
x}P((I (t0o 2o0ls of rice) dependin! on the measurement unit most frequentl1 used 2et0een the
participants of con4ersation.
The Pronoun !"# %&'( $
Platts T. (6KDK) has di4ided pronoun into demonstrati4e pronoun ( ]^{ j.,'| ), personal pronoun (.,'|
&r\l), relati4e pronoun ( .,'| Wm{me ), correlati4e pronoun ( T*m` N)* xm{me ), interro!ati4e pronoun (
.,'| RP ^t)* ), indefinite pronoun ( .,'| .,dp/ ), refle%i4e pronoun ( .,'| mdye ), reciprocal pronoun (.,'|
&' P( ), and pronominal ad3ecti4es ( ~P^({ j.,'(| ). ;nl1 Platts, T. (6KDK) has noted the pronoun t1pe
correlati4e, ho0e4er, personal pronoun is used instead of correlati4e pronoun in modern Urdu. (Platts T.
6KDK)
Aa4ed, smat, (6KL6) has classified pronouns into personal (0ith su2class honorific), refle%i4e,
demonstrati4e, !eniti4e (), common !eniti4e, indefinite, interro!ati4e, relati4e, ad4er2ial ( sZyte &Zyw .,'| ,
0ith su2classes, locati4e, temporal, and manner). Haq, M. (6KLM) has cate!ori9ed pronouns into personal,
relati4e, interro!ati4e, demonstrati4e, and indefinite.
Siddiqui, Er (6KM6) has noted personal pronoun, relati4e pronoun, interro!ati4e pronoun, demonstrati4e
pronoun, indefinite pronoun, and pronominal ad3ecti4es to 2e the t1pes of pronoun. Siddiqui, Er (6KM6)
has di4ided the pronoun into demonstrati4e pronoun, personal pronoun, relati4e pronoun, interro!ati4e
pronoun, and indefinite pronoun. Siddiqui, Er (6KM6) has sho0n honorific pronoun ( .,'| &',y/ ) and
refle%i4e pronoun to the su2=t1pe of personal pronoun. Siddiqui, Er (6KM6) has also noted that the 0ord
m` (0ho) is the onl1 relati4e pronoun in Urdu, and has other forms li7e ` (to 0hom) is the o2lique
form.
Schmidt, ". (6KKK) has sho0n demonstrati4e, personal, refle%i4e, interro!ati4e, indefinite, relati4e, and
repeated pronouns. The last t1pe seems a morpholo!ical phenomenon of reduplication. Ho0e4er, the
reduplications illustrated in the te%t are le%icali9ed (not !enerati4e).
Phrasal Items
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This section re4ie0s the literature a4aila2le on phrasal constituents of the NP. Since, the !eniti4e phrase
(thus the !eniti4e pronoun) is considered to 2e the KP hence, e%cluded from the discussion of NP.
The Ad)ectives !"# *+, $
Haq, M. (6KLM) has di4ided ad3ecti4es into personal ad3ecti4e ( ]^{ &/* ), associati4e ad3ecti4e (]^{
&tn), cardinal and pronominal ad3ecti4e ( ]^{ jgoS ), quantifier ( ]^{ jk*oVe ), and demonstrati4e pronoun
( ]^{ j.,'| ).
Aa4ed, smat, (6KL6) has cate!ori9ed ad3ecti4es as personal ad3ecti4e, cardinal and pronominal, quantifier,
intensit1 ad3ecti4e ( ]^{ joou/ ), demonstrati4e pronoun ( ]^{ j.,'| ), and comparati4e ad3ecti4e ( `kg ).
Siddiqui, Er (6KM6) has classified ad3ecti4es as personal ad3ecti4e ( ]^(({ ((ue ), associati4e ad3ecti4e,
cardinal and pronominal ad3ecti4e (also includes fraction ( goS j.- ) as its su2class), and ordinal (]^{
jgoS).
Schmidt, ". (6KKK) has sho0n interro!ati4e pronoun, indefinite pronoun, ad4er2ial pronoun (near, far,
interro!ati4e, and relati4e), repeated ad3ecti4e, and comparati4e ad3ecti4e to 2e the t1pes of ad3ecti4es.
Schmidt, ". (6KKK) has also noted possessi4e ad3ecti4e, refle%i4e possessi4e ad3ecti4e, num2ers, and
participles used as ad3ecti4e. Platts T. (6KDK) has studied morpholo!ical 2eha4ior of Urdu ad3ecti4es.
Aa4ed, smat, (6KL6) has sho0n that the ad3ecti4e usuall1 precedes the noun 2ut for emphasis it ma1
follo0. n the follo0in! e%ample the ad3ecti4e is used at the end of the sentenceF
v,'` Pd / onPe . Pp (Aamil 0as tired 0hen reached home.)
,e n * kPi P dg nP, kP/ k}* *. ( sa0 a ca4e scar1, dar7, and o2scure)
The difference of order in the a2o4e e%amples is to emphasi9e on the specific attri2ute of the su2stanti4e.
Platts T. (6KDK) has noted the use of !eniti4e construction (usin! !eniti4e diacritic .c f ]wP|* ), accordin!
to the rules of 2orro0ed Persian Morpholo!1 (hence !enerall1 used 0ith 2orro0ed Persian 0ords), 0here
Ad3ecti4e comes after the Head Noun in the Noun Phrase, e.!. gc .e ,n (a !ood man, literall1 Ha man of
!oodI). Ho0e4er, this construction is not frequentl1 used in contemporar1 Urdu.
The Numerals
Platts T. (6KDK) has listed numerals apart from ad3ecti4es, and has su2di4ided them into cardinal, ordinal,
collecti4e numeral, distri2uti4e and multipli=cati4e, numeral ad4er2, fractional num2er, currenc1 (ra7am).
Schmidt, ". (6KKK) has also listed numerals apart from ad3ecti4es, and has cate!ori9ed them as cardinal
num2ers, ordinal num2ers, fractions, frequenc1 (once, t0ice, etc.), multiplicati4e, repeated num=2ers, and
num2ers 0ith o2lique plurals.
Haq, M. (6KLM), Aa4ed, smat, (6KL6), and Siddiqui, Er (6KM6) ha4e noted numerals as t1pe of ad3ecti4es,
hence, listed in the ad3ecti4e phrase 2elo0.
-eatures and A.reement
The term Rf*mW N)* (:ssentials of Noun) is used 21 Maul4i A2dul Haq, (6KLM) to discuss the features of the
constituents of the NP, and their a!reement requirement to form a !rammaticall1 4alid NP. :4er1 noun
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(and some other constituents of NP, e.!. ad3ecti4e) in Urdu has the $ender (p`) feature, 0hich needs to
a!ree 0ith the head of the NP 2ein! formed. Jhen a constituent (e.!. 0hole num2er) does not ha4e the
!ender restriction for attachment, it is said to ha4e neutral !ender 0hich means it has set of all possi2le
4alues for that feature in Urdu, i.e., masculine and feminine, as the 4alue for its !ender feature.
Producti4e Morphotactics ha4e 2een o2ser4ed in Urdu for the identification of the !ender and num2er of
a noun from its shape, 2ut in realit1, it is a le%ical phenomenon, e.!. P- W (2o1, e%ample of mar7ed
masculine sin!ular noun< the mar7 is endin! 4o0el) 4s. PSg (pra1er, e%ample of a noun ha4in! same mar7
2ut it is feminine sin!ular), and &- W (!irl, e%ample of a mar7ed feminine noun< the mar7 is endin! 4o0el)
4s. & /P (elephant, e%ample of a noun ha4in! same mar7 2ut it is masculine sin!ular).
The feature of honor, in Urdu, o4errides the feature of num2erF a sin!ular starts requirin! plural
a!reement due to increased honor, e.!. gPt)* Pb (The teacher came) 4s. /P)* b (The teachers came) 4s. gPt)*
+zP{ b (Bespected teacher came). t also sho0s that the a!reement is not restricted to NP and its
constituents onl1, rather is 0itnessed across other phrases of the sentence, as 0ell.
utt, M., (CD66) has noted that e%plicit case (]WPz) mar7in! is useful for the esta2lishment of the semantic
roles of nouns (and pronouns) and their sntactic relationship to the 4er2. The freedom in phrase order in
Urdu lan!ua!e is due to e%plicit case mar7in!. #or e%ampleF
&- W f*}kg > n@ P dg >m-@ !i4es the same meanin! as
f*}kg &- W >m-@ P dg > n@ (The !irl loo7ed at the door.)
n the a2o4e e%ample, H n I mar7s that H&- W I is the a!ent (or the Su23ect, doin! the act of seein!) and Hm-I
mar7s the precedin! noun H f*}kg I to 2e the patient (or the ;23ect, the thin! 2ein! seen). So the case is a
tool for mar7in! relationships 2et0een dependents and the head. (utt, M., CD66)
Shape (form) of the !ender mar7ed noun also chan!es on the 2asis of attachment of 5ase Mar7er
Schmidt, ". (6KKK)F
(a) Nominati4e (&ZSPw) formF ;nl1 for Nominati4e 5ase
(2) 8ocati4e (&*on) formF ;nl1 for 8ocati4e 5ase. This form does not e%ist for 8er2al Nouns. (Platts
T. 6KDK)
(c) ;2lique (&*on.,i) formF #or all other 5ases (requirin! separate 0ord, case mar7er, to follo0)
Usuall1 a counta2le noun allo0s plural inflection and can follo0 a cardinal or pronominal ad3ecti4e,
0hereas a non=count noun allo0s pronominal attachment of quantifier. This constraint of attachment
cannot 2e implemented 0ithout ha4in! a feature to indicate 0hether the noun is a count or non=count.
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Proposed /rammar with Analysis
The proposed !rammar is 0ritten usin! the notation of "e%ical #unctional $rammar. t is incremented
0ith discussion on e4er1 addition.
The Noun
The computational anal1sis of the Noun portion of the Su2stanti4ePhrase (NP consistin! su2stanti4e noun
onl1) has sho0n that theoreticall1 infinite su2stanti4e nouns can occur in an NP.
The Su2stanti4eNoun is a P;S (Part of Speech) that means Su2stanti4e Noun, this term is used after
(Siddiqui, Er 6KM6) and (Platts T. 6KDK). This 0ord is more precise and specific than the term Noun that
has 2roader sense. A su2stanti4e noun refers to the !eneric concept that includes common noun and
proper noun etc. Addin! the features to this !rammar rule !i4esF
Since the unification 0or7s for the a!reement of feature 4alues of the current item 0ith its composin!
parent hence onl1 last noun in the strin! of nouns is coded for a!reement, considerin! the last noun to 2e
the head of the NP, most of the times, in Urdu.
Pronoun
As the !eniti4e phrase is not in the scope of this paper therefore it is not modeled herein.
n the a2o4e rule, Eemonstrati4e refers to the demonstrati4e pronoun, and parentheses around this P;S
sho0 its 2ein! optional. The Su2stanti4ePhrase, so far, is same as coded a2o4e. Pronoun is the P;S
assi!ned to all pronoun t1pes e%cept the demonstrati4e pronoun and !eniti4e pronoun. t is important to
notice that the Pronoun construction is pre4ented from Eemonstrati4e attachment.
Ad)ective Phrase 01 &2%3 4+&,53 $
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The Ad3ecti4e Phrase ma1 contain multiple ad3ecti4al items.
Su2stanti4ePhrase must 2e modified to incorporate the Ad3ecti4alPhrase (Ad3ecti4e Phrase)F
The Ad3ecti4alPhrase is 7ept optional. The su2sections in this section anal19e and 2uild the !rammar for
incorporation of the constituents of ad3ecti4e phrase.
The Numeral Phrase
$eneral numerals are comple% and of recursi4e nature so it is 2etter to de4ise a componentGtool that
assists the !rammar application in this re!ard. #or e%ampleF
,/ kopm) - P(() k* kP(( m(() .((,/ (three hundred and fifteen la7h si%t1 thousand four hundred and
thirteen)
6uantifier
uantifiers occur 2efore t1pical ad3ecti4es.
7ardinal
5ardinal is the 0hole num2er, and ma1 introduce e%tra comple%it1 to the !rammar if !enerated as
ordinar1 production rule. So it 0as anal19ed that to 7eep the !rammar rele4ant to the !rammatical
aspects. This idea entails that there e%ists a small pro!ram in4o7ed from the !rammar to !enerate or
4alidate the complicated formation of the (theoreticall1) infinitel1 lon! 0hole num2er, referred to as
5omposite5ardinal here.
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Thus the Ad3ecti4alPhrase 0ill 2ecomeF
n the a2o4e rule, Su2stanti4ePhrase is e%tended (the ellipses are 3ust sho0n here to indicate that pre4ious
rule is e%tended, not replaced) to incorporate NumeralPhrase is 7ept optional, 0hen it occurs it contains
nothin! 2ut a 5omposite5ardinal, till this sta!e. #eature a!reementGunification ensures that 4alue of the
cardinal must a!ree 0ith the num2er feature of the head of the Su2stanti4ePhrase (0hich is the parent
production of the NumeralPhrase). The 5omposite5ardinal constructs or 4alidates the construction of the
num2er 0hich is a 4alid strin! of 5ardinals 0here 5ardinal is the P;S assi!ned to such 0ords.
8rdinals
;ccurrence pattern of ordinal is same as that of demonstrati4e pronoun, so the NounPhrase must
incorporate it at par 0ith Eemonstrati4eF
This is chan!ed NounPhrase rule (not added). Here ;rdinal is the P;S for ordinal 0ords in the le%icon. t
must 2e noticed that 0hole construction 2efore the Su2stanti4ePhrase in this rule is optional.
9ultiplicative
Multiplicati4e also cause similar e%tension the !rammar so far.
Multiplicati4e is the P;S for such 0ords in the le%icon< and the ellipses are 3ust sho0n here to indicate
that pre4ious rule is e%tended, not replaced.
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-ractions
Urdu has t0o t1pes of fractions, 4i9. Suffi% #ractions (a 5ardinal ma1 precede, ,/ &P /m (three=fourth)),
and Prefi% #ractions (a Unit 5ardinal al0a1s follo0s, k* (one and a half thousand)).
5ardinal, #ractionalSuffi%, #ractionalPrefi%, and Unit5ardinal are the P;S for the 0ords of these
cate!ories< and the ellipses are 3ust sho0n here to indicate that pre4ious rule is e%tended, not replaced.
P8S 9odifyin. Particles
There a fe0 morphemes in Urdu that are handled s1ntacticall1 in this 0or7 2ecause of their ortho!raphic
separation from pre4ious to7en.
vaalaa :#;$ 7onstruction
The 0ord *}
C
(sa1, 4aalaa=morpheme) has an importance 0hile 0or7in! on computational !rammar of
Urdu< it adds comple%it1 to the anal1sis of NP. There are some suffi%es sho0n in Siddiqui, Er (6KM6) that
can 2e used to ma7e noun from an e%istin! 4er2, of 0hich 4aalaa=morpheme is the most open to 2e used
as suffi% for this purpose. n fact, it forms Ad3ecti4e Phrase, and occurs 2efore the head noun of the Noun
Phrase. Aust li7e an1 other ad3ecti4e, 4aalaa=construction, also 2ecomes a noun 0hen the head noun is
a2sent in the NP, for e%ampleF
vP &egb m (The mad man spo7e.) is same as vP m (The mad man spo7e.)< here droppin! of the head
of the NP causes the pertinent Ad3ecti4e Phrase to 2e promoted to NP. Similarl1,
g}g *} &egb m (The mil7=man spo7e.) is same as g}g *} m (The mil7=man spo7e.)< here, a!ain,
droppin! of the head is inducin! promotion of the Ad3ecti4e Phrase to NP. Ho0e4er, the trend of
droppin! the head noun in 4aalaa=construction is frequent.
The noun t1pe, $enerali9ed Noun to 2e the su2=t1pe of Ad3ecti4e, stated 21 Siddiqui, Er (6KM6), !i4es the
lin!uistic e4idence of this phenomenon. #le%i2ilit1 of 4aalaa=morpheme to allo0 an1 comple%
construction 2e preceded, adds complication in its computational anal1sis. t can 2e used 0ith 4er2s and
nouns. t can 2e ar2itraril1 lon! and comple% asF
{ &- nP` &W*} ~P W*} &egb &W*} TPt- W*} nk &W*} -m &W*} &W*}.mr/ &- W xPe}k*}
(The hand7erchief 2elon!in! to the !irl in the picture 0ith the frame 0hose color 0as same as the color of
the 2oo7 2elon!in! to the man 0ho 0as tal7ed a2out in the mornin! con4ersation)
C
The term, 4aalaa=morpheme, introduced here, ser4es for 2oth !enders and 2oth num2ers in Urdu. Ho0e4er, surface
form is Masc.S!F*}, #em.S!F &W*}, Masc.PlF W*} , and #em.PlF P,W*} .
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This construction seems ridiculous 2ut is 4alid, !rammaticall1. Therefore, 7eepin! such cons=tructions
!enerati4e 4ia !rammar seems lo!ical.
Thus ne%t !rammar rule is accommodatin! the 4aalaa=construction. #or the purpose of this rule, a ne0
Part of Speech H ,w.{ *} I (4aalaa=morpheme) is needed, 0hich has onl1 one main entr1 H*}I, in all its
forms (on the 2ases of !ender, num2er, and case of the follo0in! 0ord).
Numeral particles
There are some numeral morphemes that chan!e the !rammatical 2eha4ior of main 0ord. These are
referred to as Numeral Particles collecti4el1.
The ellipses are 3ust sho0n here to indicate that pre4ious rule is e%tended, not replaced.
7onclusion and -uture <or=
The literature re4ie0 from nati4e and forei!n !rammar 0riters !a4e a detailed understandin! a2out the
internal structure of the Noun Phrase in Urdu. t is a comple% structure< still the 0or7 is in pro!ress. The
follo0in! items are 1et to 2e included in this !rammarF ntensit1 su2=phrase under the Ad3ecti4es, More
a2out 4aalaa 5onstruction, Units and Bates, 5om2ination of Numerals 0ith Ad3ecti4es, 5om2ination of
Numerals 0ith Nominal, 5oordinate 5on3unction of NP ( j.Qb ,/ Z,n k}* }g gP) t ), and 5oordinate
5on3unction of Ad3ecti4al Phrase ( ,/ ./m'W kP xm k}* }g km-m d ).
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References
Ali, Aasim. Beport on Urdu 5omputational Morpholo!1, (CDDM). A report prepared as inte!ral
requirement of readin! course on HUrdu 5omputational Morpholo!1I, National Uni4ersit1 of
5omputer and :mer!in! Sciences, "ahore.
utt, M. and Kin!, T.H. HThe Status of 5aseI. n 8. Ea1al and A. Maha3an (eds.) 5lause Structure in
South Asian "an!ua!es. (CDD). erlinF Sprin!er 8erla!, 66KL.
utt, Miriam, et el. HA $rammar Jriters 5oo72oo7I, (6KKK). 5enter for the Stud1 of "an!ua!e and
nformation, Stanford, 5alifornia.
utt, Miriam. HTheories of 5aseI, (CDD?). 5am2rid!e Uni4ersit1 Press.
Haq, Er M. A2dul. H oc S*m }gk* I. "ahore Academ1, "ahore.
Haq, M. A2dul. H }gk* X.{ } mn I ) , 6KLM ). An3uman=e=Taraqqi Urdu (Hind).
Aa4ed, smat. H &n }gk* oS*m I ) , 6KL6 ). Taraqqi Urdu ureau, Ne0 Eelhi.
Mariam Je2sters ;nline Eictionar1, Mariam Je2ster ncorporation, (CDDM)
httpFGG000.m=0.comG, sited April CDDM
;%ford :n!lish Eictionar1, ;%ford Uni4ersit1 Press, (CDDM)
httpFGG000.oed.comG, sited April CDDM
Platts, Aohn T. HA $rammar of the Hindustani or Urdu "an!ua!eI, (6KDK). "ondon.
uir7, Bandolph, et el. HA 5omprehensi4e $rammar of the :n!lish "an!ua!eI, (6KL). "on!man $roup
"imited, :n!land.
Schmidt, B ". HUrduF An essential !rammarI, (6KKK), Boutled!e, "ondon and Ne0 or7.
Siddiqui, Er A2u=ul="ais. H _eP` oS*mVW* I ) , 6KM6 ). Mar7a9i Urdu oard, "ahore.
JordNet Princeton Uni4ersit1 5o!niti4e Science "a2orator1, (6KKL) httpFGG0ordnet.princeton.edu, sited
April CDDM
Aasim Ali, Mohammad Kamran, Shahid Siddiq
National Uni4ersit1 of 5omputer :mer!in! Sciences, "ahore 5ampus
aasim.ali, 7amran.mali7nu.edu.p7
Sarmad Hussain
Al=Kh0ar9mi nstitute of 5omputer Science, Uni4ersit1 of :n!ineerin! Technolo!1
sarmad.hussain7ic7.edu.p7
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