TY - GEN
T1 - Semantic interpretation of copulative sentences
AU - Ardissono, L.
AU - Terenziani, P.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1991.
PY - 1991
Y1 - 1991
N2 - In the paper, we propose our approach to the study of the semantics of copulative “be” in Natural Language Understanding. In particular, we analyse the way in which the meaning of sentences containing a copula depends on the generic vs specific vs attributive readings of the subject NP and of the predicate nominal NP (when the second is present). Moreover, we propose a semantic net formalism for the representation of these meanings, whose purpose is to maintain ambiguities as local as possible, and to account for an incremental interpretation process, so that the initial ambiguous representation (which features all possible meanings for the copula) may be worked on whenever new pieces of information allow further disambiguation. Finally, we describe the interpretation process, that uses information conveyed by the input sentence in order to determine the final meaning of the copula.
AB - In the paper, we propose our approach to the study of the semantics of copulative “be” in Natural Language Understanding. In particular, we analyse the way in which the meaning of sentences containing a copula depends on the generic vs specific vs attributive readings of the subject NP and of the predicate nominal NP (when the second is present). Moreover, we propose a semantic net formalism for the representation of these meanings, whose purpose is to maintain ambiguities as local as possible, and to account for an incremental interpretation process, so that the initial ambiguous representation (which features all possible meanings for the copula) may be worked on whenever new pieces of information allow further disambiguation. Finally, we describe the interpretation process, that uses information conveyed by the input sentence in order to determine the final meaning of the copula.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85031813026&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/3-540-54712-6_263
DO - 10.1007/3-540-54712-6_263
M3 - Conference contribution
SN - 9783540547129
T3 - Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)
SP - 465
EP - 469
BT - Trends in Artificial Intelligence - 2nd Congress of the Italian Association for Artificial Intelligence, AI*IA, Proceedings
A2 - Ardizzone, Edoardo
A2 - Gaglio, Salvatore
A2 - Sorbello, Filippo
PB - Springer Verlag
T2 - 2nd Congress of the Italian Association for Artificial Intelligence, AI*IA 1991
Y2 - 29 October 1991 through 31 October 1991
ER -