Dimensions of variation in the expression of functional features: modelling definiteness in LFG

The exponents of functional features show a range of variation that cannotbe captured even by dichotomies such as the clitic-affix distinction, noteven when extended to include categories such as phrasal affix. A multidimensionalparallel correspondence theory such as Lexical-Functional Grammaris eminently suited to dealing with the full range of variation. However,some of the patterns we find in languages involve extensions to the standardconstructional formalism of LFG. In this paper we look at some challengingpatterns of distribution exemplified by the definiteness feature and compareanalyses expressed in terms of standard LFG formalism with those capturedin a specification language approach.