Type Theory for Natural Language Semantics

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stergios Chatzikyriakidis ◽  
Robin Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Type Theory ◽  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Formal Semantics ◽  
Semantic Content ◽  
Natural Languages ◽  
Language Semantics ◽  
Initial Work ◽  
P Type ◽  
Richard Montague

Type theory is a regime for classifying objects (including events) into categories called types. It was originally designed in order to overcome problems relating to the foundations of mathematics relating to Russell’s paradox. It has made an immense contribution to the study of logic and computer science and has also played a central role in formal semantics for natural languages since the initial work of Richard Montague building on the typed λ-calculus. More recently, type theories following in the tradition created by Per Martin-Löf have presented an important alternative to Montague’s type theory for semantic analysis. These more modern type theories yield a rich collection of types which take on a role of representing semantic content rather than simply structuring the universe in order to avoid paradoxes.

scholarly journals L2 semantics from a formal linguistic perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-209
Author(s):  
Roumyana Slabakova
Keyword(s):  
Formal Semantics ◽  
Formal Languages ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Natural Languages ◽  
Psychological States ◽  
Empirical Question ◽  
Richard Montague ◽  
Linguistic Units ◽  
Computing Machines

Ever since Aristotle and Plato (The Categories; Cratylus), linguists have considered language to be the pairing of form (sounds or gestures or written strings) and meaning. This is true for all meaningful linguistic units from morphemes, through words, phrases and sentences, to discourse. Generally speaking, semantics is the study of how form and meaning are related. However, semantics is more narrowly construed as excluding those meanings that derive from speaker intensions and psychological states, as well as sociocultural features of the context. Furthermore, the boundary between semantics proper and pragmatics is intensely debated and to some researchers constitutes an empirical question. Formal semantics came into being as a system describing formal languages, that is, the mathematical and logical languages of computing machines as opposed to the natural languages of human beings. However, in the late 1960s the philosopher Richard Montague argued that natural languages such as English could be fruitfully described using the same rigorous rules and correspondences utilized in the description of formal languages. Modern formal semantics was born and is currently prospering as a branch of linguistics.

Property theory and the revision theory of definitions

2000 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 212-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Orilia
Keyword(s):  
Natural Language ◽  
Type Theory ◽  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Formal Ontology ◽  
Natural Language Semantics ◽  
Free System ◽  
Property Theory ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Language Semantics ◽  
Quantifier Phrases

§1. Introduction. Russell's type-theory can be seen as a theory of properties, relations, and propositions (PRPs) (in short, a property theory). It relies on rigid type distinctions at the grammatical level to circumvent the property theorist's major problem, namely Russell's paradox, or, more generally, the paradoxes of predication. Type theory has arguably been the standard property theory for years, often taken for granted, and used in many applications. In particular, Montague [27] has shown how to use a type-theoretical property-theory as a foundation for natural language semantics.In recent years, it has been persuasively argued that many linguistic and ontological data are best accounted for by using a type-free property theory. Several type-free property theories, typically with fine-grained identity conditions for PRPs, have therefore been proposed as potential candidates to play a foundational role in natural language semantics, or for related applications in formal ontology and the foundations of mathematics (Bealer [6], Cocchiarella [18], Turner [35], etc.).Attempts have then been made to combine some such property theory with a Montague-style approach in natural language semantics. Most notably, Chierchia and Turner [15] propose a Montague-style semantic analysis of a fragment of English, by basically relying on the type-free system of Turner [35]. For a similar purpose Chierchia [14] relies on one of the systems based on homogeneous stratification due to Cocchiarella. Cocchiarella's systems have also been used for applications in formal ontology, inspired by Montague's account of quantifier phrases as, roughly, properties of properties (see, e.g., Cocchiarella [17], [19], Landini [25], Orilia [29]).

scholarly journals The Science of Meaning

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Language ◽  
Formal Semantics ◽  
Semantic Theory ◽  
Linguistic Meaning ◽  
Natural Language Semantics ◽  
Language Faculty ◽  
Natural Languages ◽  
Current State ◽  
Language Semantics ◽  
Theoretical Reflection

Semantics is the systematic study of linguistic meaning. The past fifty years have seen an explosion of research into the semantics of natural languages. There are now sophisticated theories of phenomena that were not even known to exist mere decades ago. Much of the early work in natural language semantics was accompanied by extensive reflection on the aims of semantic theory, and the form a theory must take to meet those aims. But this meta-theoretical reflection has not kept pace with recent theoretical innovations. The aim of this volume is to re-address these questions concerning the foundations of natural language semantics in light of the current state-of-the-art in semantic theorizing. The volume addresses a range of foundational questions about formal semantics: what is the best methodology for semantic theorizing, and should experimental techniques play a crucial role? How should we understand the use of formal tools such as model theory, and are there better formal alternatives? How should we think about compositionality? What does semantic theory tell us about the language faculty or linguistic competence? What are the advantages of dynamic semantics? How do formal semantic theories relate to philosophical notions of context, content, interpretation, and propositions?

scholarly journals Contemporary Issues in Natural Language Semantics: an interview with Gennaro Chierchia

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gennaro Chierchia ◽  
Roberta Pires de Oliveira
Keyword(s):  
Natural Language ◽  
Natural Language Semantics ◽  
Alternative Semantics ◽  
Natural Languages ◽  
Lab Experiments ◽  
Language Semantics ◽  
New Methodologies

ABSTRACT Chierchia discusses his views on the frontiers of contemporary semantics: multidimensionality of meaning, alternative semantics, ‘mid level’ generalizations, the natural logicality of natural languages, the role of reference, and the place of new methodologies, i.e. lab-experiments.

1758-P: Type 2 Diabetes–Associated Mood Disorders: Role of Insulin Resistance in Serotonergic Neurons

Diabetes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 69 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 1758-P
Author(s):  
HUGO MARTIN ◽  
SÉBASTIEN BULLICH ◽  
FABIEN DUCROCQ ◽  
MARION GRALAND ◽  
CLARA OLIVRY ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Insulin Resistance ◽  
Type 2 Diabetes ◽  
Mood Disorders ◽  
Serotonergic Neurons ◽  
P Type

THE ROLE OF METAPHOR IN HISTORICAL KNOWLEDGE

Cultural code ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 30-37
Author(s):  
MARIYA PETROVNA LAPTEVA ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Content ◽  
Cognitive Significance ◽  
Historical Knowledge ◽  
Positive Sense

The article continues the author's series of publications on the terminological apparatus of the historian. The problems of humanitarian science cannot have "final solutions". F.R.Ankersmith paid attention to the fact that the attitude to the role of metaphors knows not onli "ups" but also "downs". Exploring aspects of the conceptual arsenal associated with the explicit use of the metaphor. "Implicit use" refers to those semantic situations when a historian or another humanist enters into a kind of dialogue with other sciences, carrying out terminological borrowing. Since the semantic content of the term changes in this case, then, in essence, a metaphorical action takes place that does not require a special name. The article contains, the author's reflection on the circumstances and features of the use of metaphors. The author finds out how and why historiography becomes metaphorical. Referring to specialists who developed the cognitive basis of the theory of metaphor, the author analyzes different traditions of understanding what metaphor is. There is a search for a positive sense of metaphor usage with some ambiguity. Since the metaphor creates a new meaning of the word, its cognitive significance becomes unquestionable. By citing examples of various uses of metaphors in the texts of historians, the author shows how a metaphor helps clarify the uniqueness of historical situations.

Aesthetics

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael N. Forster
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Approach ◽  
Semantic Content ◽  
Moral Values ◽  
Science And Religion ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
German Romanticism ◽  
Philosophy Of Literature ◽  
Aesthetic Values

Aesthetics, or the philosophy of literature and art, was one of Herder’s main focuses. By valorizing these areas of culture (in comparison with others such as science and religion) and in several other ways he prepared the ground for German Romanticism. He also established many principles of great intrinsic importance: rejecting apriorism and systematization in aesthetics in favor of an empirical, non-systematic approach; insisting that arts such as sculpture and painting express meanings and therefore require interpretation; recognizing the central role of genre not only in literature but also in such arts; perceiving the deep historical, cultural, and even individual variability of literature and art in respect of semantic content, genre, moral values, and aesthetic values, plus the major implications this variability has for both interpretation and evaluation; developing a set of radical views concerning beauty; and emphasizing the importance of literature and art as means of moral pedagogy.

scholarly journals Role of ALD Al2O3 Surface Passivation on the Performance of p-Type Cu2O Thin Film Transistors

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 4156-4164
Author(s):  
Mari Napari ◽  
Tahmida N. Huq ◽  
David J. Meeth ◽  
Mikko J. Heikkilä ◽  
Kham M. Niang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Thin Film Transistors ◽  
Surface Passivation ◽  
Cu2o Thin Film ◽  
P Type

LIGHT-INDUCED EXCESS CONDUCTIVITY AND THE ROLE OF ARGON IN THE DEPOSITION OF DOPING-MODULATED AMORPHOUS SILICON SUPERLATTICES.

1985 ◽  
Vol 56 ◽  
Author(s):  
F.-C. Su ◽  
S. Levine ◽  
P. E. Vanier ◽  
F. J. Kampas
Keyword(s):  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Amorphous Semiconductor ◽  
Excess Conductivity ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Semiconductor Superlattice ◽  
Deposition Parameters ◽  
Superlattice Structures ◽  
Argon Dilution ◽  
P Type

AbstractAmorphous semiconductor superlattice structures consisting of alternating n-type and p-type doped layers of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) have been made by silane glow discharge in a single chamber system. These multilayered films show the novel phenomenon of light-induced excess conductivity (LEC) associated with a metastable state having a lifetime of order of days. This report shows that the LEC effect is quite dependent on the specific details of the deposition parameters, namely dilution of the silane with inert gas, substrate temperature and layer thickness. In order to investigate the origin of the LEC effect, argon dilution was used for specific regions of the structure. This experiment shows that the slow states are distributed throughout the layers, and are not concentrated at the interfaces.

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