autolexical syntax

An approach to GRAMMAR, developed in the early 1990s, which proposes autonomous systems of RULES co-ordinated via the LEXICON. SYNTACTIC, SEMANTIC and MORPHOLOGICAL modules (formalized as context-free PHRASE-STRUCTURE GRAMMARS) are interrelated by a series of interface principles which limit the degree of structural discrepancy between the REPRESENTATIONS. An expression must satisfy the independent requirements of each module to be WELL FORMED.