Subject or Object? : Syntactic disambiguation in Norwegian, stochastic optimality theory and application in an automatic system

Acknowledgements As the work on my thesis is drawing towards its end, I am happy for the opportunity to thank some of the people who have assisted me along the way and made the whole process such an interesting and enjoyable venture. Firstly, I want to thank my two advisors. My principle advisor, Prof. Janne Bondi Johannessen, has been a true pleasure to work with. She has been involved in the whole process, from choice of topic to concluding remarks , and has always given me pointed criticism, whilst at the same time installing in me a belief in the project and my capabilities therein. Thanks also for giving me a glance into academic life by inviting me to two lovely seminars, and in general making me feel welcome in settings that would otherwise have seemed quite intimidating from a mere student's perspective. Prof. Helge Lødrup has been my secondary advisor and an invaluable source of knowledge and theoretical insight. He taught my first course in syntax and had me interested from the very start. His enthusiasm for the field is truly inspiring. It is my pleasure to thank him for all the time he has spent on me during the course of this thesis and for always having an open door. Many thanks to Kristin, Anders, Åsne and Lars at Tekstlaboratoriet for being so supportive and always making me feel welcome. My fellow students at Language, Logic and Information also deserve thanks. In particular, I want to thank my good friends Iselin, Fredrik and Bjørnar for all the lunches and coffee breaks along the way. The social life here has made the difficult writing process seem a lot less impossible and I will miss you all. My friends outside of university-Liza, Iselin, Kari and all the rest of you, thanks for all the good times! A special thanks also to Anne Karin Paaske and Nils Øvrelid for making the last few months endurable and for all the good food and comfort. Finally, and on a more personal note, I want to thank Stian Nygaard for endless support and patience in everything.