[developers] LKB: Unification in lexicon

[Ann Copestake]

The error message isn't particularly helpful, but this follows from
the requirement that the type hierarchy is completely defined.

> 
> lex-verb-sein-1-fin-1-sg-pres-ind := tl-verb-sein-1 &
> infl-verb-fin-1-sg-pres-ind & [ ORTH "bin" ].
> 

what you're asking for here is a type, which inherits from
t1-verb-sein-1 and infl-...-ind, but lexical entries are not types.
The system looks for an existing type, can't find one, and thus you
get the message you do.

> Can anyone enlighten me why this restriction in the lexicon is there,
> and how I could circumvent it?

you can specify something like:

lex := type1 & [ PATH type2].

since typically you don't want both the types to specify information
about the entire sign.  Or use lexical rules to do inflection.