People she doesn't know

Language Log 2016-10-30

Yoram Meroz described this to me as a "lovely ambiguous headline": "Clinton aide Huma Abedin has told people she doesn’t know how her emails wound up on her husband’s computer", Washington Post 10/29/2016.

Yoram didn't specify the ambiguity, but I presume that the issue is whether Ms. Abedin [told people [she doesn't know how it happened]], or rather [told [people she doesn't know] [how it happened]].

Bizarrely, the Berkeley parser finds a different structure, where the apostrophe-s is a reduced form of "is" rather than a possessive, and some weird stuff is going on as well with "doesn't":

(ROOT  (S    (NP (NNP Huma) (NNP Abedin))    (VP (VBZ has)      (VP (VBN told)        (SBAR          (S            (NP              (NP (NNS people))              (SBAR                (S                  (NP (PRP she))                  (VP (VBP doesn)                    (S                      (VP (TO t)                        (VP (VB know)                          (SBAR                            (WHADVP (WRB how))                            (S                              (NP (PRP$ her) (NNS emails))                              (VP (VBD wound)                                (PRT (RP up))                                (PP (IN on)                                  (NP (PRP$ her) (NN husband)))))))))))))            (VP (VBZ s)              (NP (NN computer)))))))    (. .)))

Obligatory screenshot: