Computing Perspective in Text - Computational Linguistics and Talking Robots - page 225

The difficulty arises if the pronoun it is derived transformationally from the
“underlying” noun phrase the prize he wants , and the pronoun he from
the man who deserves it . Because each underlying noun phrase contains
a pronoun which itself is based on an underlying noun phrase there result two
recursions leading to an infinite “deep structure.” Based on this Phrase Struc-
ture Grammar analysis, Peters and Ritchie (1973) proved that transformational
grammar is undecidable (complexity).
The alternative DBS analysis of this example is surprisingly simple, like that
of the center-embedded relative clauses shown in 9.3.3:

11.5.9 DBS GRAPH ANALYSIS OF THE B ACH -P ETERS SENTENCE

(i) semantic relations graph (SRG) (iii) numbered arcs graph (NAG)

get

get

1

12

6 7

man prize

man prize

8 11

2 5

deserve want

deserve want

4 9 10

3

(prize)/ça (man)/ça

(prize)/ça (man)/ça

(ii) signature

V

N N

V V

(N) (N)

(iv) surface realization

1

2 3 4−5−6 7 8−9 10 11−12

.

The_man who_deserves it will_get the_prize he wants

The graph indicates that the first relative clause who deserves it has a subject
gap, while the second relative clause (which) he wants has an object gap. For
the hear mode derivation of this example, see NLC'06, 10.6.2.