On the semantic content of “progress”

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 30-39
Author(s):  
Petr Kusliy
Keyword(s):  
Natural Language ◽  
Formal Semantics ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
Semantic Content

The paper is a reply to Alexander Nikiforov’s discussion of the notion of progress and a critical evaluation of that discussion. The author accepts Nikiforov’s arguments about the relativity of the denotation of the term “progress” but rejects his attempts to explain the term’s meaning by an appeal to a positive develop-ment in a concrete, albeit abstract, realm. The author argues that even though “progress” is an evaluative predicate whose denotation heavily depends on context, this does not mean that its semantics lacks an objective component. Building on some literature from formal semantics of natural language, the author outlines an approach to the semantics of “progress” that would not have the shortcomings of the approach suggested by Nikiforov.

scholarly journals From Existential Graphs to Conceptual Graphs

2014 ◽  
pp. 439-472
Author(s):  
John F. Sowa
Keyword(s):  
Natural Language ◽  
Computational Linguistics ◽  
Formal Semantics ◽  
Semantic Networks ◽  
Conceptual Graphs ◽  
Computationally Efficient ◽  
Graphic Notation ◽  
Neural Processes ◽  
Existential Graphs ◽  
The Mind

Existential graphs (EGs) are a simple, readable, and expressive graphic notation for logic. Conceptual graphs (CGs) combine a logical foundation based on EGs with features of the semantic networks used in artificial intelligence and computational linguistics. CG design principles address logical, linguistic, and cognitive requirements: a formal semantics defined by the ISO standard for Common Logic; the flexibility to support the expressiveness, context dependencies, and metalevel commentary of natural language; and cognitively realistic operations for reasoning by induction, deduction, abduction, and analogy. To accommodate the vagueness and ambiguities of natural language, informal heuristics can supplement the formal semantics. With sufficient background knowledge and a clarifying dialog, informal graphs can be refined to any degree of precision. Peirce claimed that the rules for reasoning with EGs generate “a moving picture of the action of the mind in thought.” Some philosophers and psychologists agree: Peirce's diagrams and rules are a good candidate for a natural logic that reflects the neural processes that support thought and language. They are psychologically realistic and computationally efficient.

Distributivity in Formal Semantics

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 289-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucas Champollion
Keyword(s):  
Natural Language ◽  
Formal Semantics ◽  
Deep Breath ◽  
The World ◽  
The Relationship

Distributivity in natural language occurs in sentences such as John and Mary (each) took a deep breath, when a predicate that is combined with a plurality-denoting expression is understood as holding of each of the members of that plurality. Language provides ways to express distributivity overtly, with words such as English each, but also covertly, when no one word can be regarded as contributing it. Both overt and covert distributivity occur in a wide variety of constructions. This article reviews and synthesizes influential approaches to distributivity in formal semantics and includes pointers to some more recent approaches. Theories of distributivity can be distinguished on the basis of how they answer a number of interrelated questions: To what extent can distributivity be attributed to what we know about the world, as opposed to the meanings of words or silent operators? What is the relationship between distributivity and plurality? Does distributivity always reach down to the singular individuals in a plurality? If not, under what circumstances is distributivity over subgroups possible, and what is its relation to distributivity over individuals?

YAG: A TEMPLATE-BASED TEXT REALIZATION SYSTEM FOR DIALOG

2001 ◽  
Vol 09 (06) ◽  
pp. 649-659
Author(s):  
SONGSAK CHANNARUKUL ◽  
SUSAN W. MCROY ◽  
SYED S. ALI
Keyword(s):  
Natural Language ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Semantic Content ◽  
Text Structure ◽  
Tutoring Systems ◽  
Dialog Systems ◽  
Base Content ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
Text Structures ◽  
Dialog System

We present a natural language realization component, called YAG, that is suitable for intelligent tutoring systems that use dialog. Dialog imposes unique requirements on a generation component, namely: dialog systems must interact in real-time; they must be capable of producing fragmentary output; and they may be re-deployed in a number of different domains. Our approach to real-time natural language realization combines a declarative, template-based approach for the representation of text structure with knowledge-based methods for representing semantic content. Possible text structures are defined in a declarative language that is easy to understand, maintain, and re-use. A dialog system can use YAG to realize text structures by specifying a template and content from its knowledge base. Content can be specified in one of two ways: (1) as a sequence of propositions along with some control features; or (2) as a set of feature-value pairs. YAG's template realization algorithm realizes text without any search (in contrast to systems that must find rules that unify with a feature structure).

scholarly journals Formal Semantics for Metamodel-Based Domain Specific Languages

2014 ◽  
pp. 297-323
Author(s):  
Paolo Arcaini ◽  
Angelo Gargantini ◽  
Elvinia Riccobene ◽  
Patrizia Scandurra
Keyword(s):  
Natural Language ◽  
Formal Method ◽  
Formal Analysis ◽  
Formal Semantics ◽  
State Machine ◽  
Abstract Syntax ◽  
Domain Specific Languages ◽  
Abstract State Machine ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Definition Of

Domain Specific Languages (DSLs) are often defined in terms of metamodels capturing the abstract syntax of the language. For a complete definition of a DSL, both syntactic and semantic aspects of the language have to be specified. Metamodeling environments support syntactic definition issues, but they do not provide any help in defining the semantics of metamodels, which is usually given in natural language. In this chapter, the authors present an approach to formally define the semantics of metamodel-based languages. It is based on a translational technique that hooks to the language metamodel its precise and executable semantics expressed in terms of the Abstract State Machine formal method. The chapter also shows how different techniques can be used for formal analysis of models (i.e., instance of the language metamodel). The authors exemplify the use of their approach on a language for Petri nets.

scholarly journals Formal Semantics and the Structure of Meaning

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (8) ◽  
pp. 34-46
Author(s):  
Petr S. Kusliy
Keyword(s):  
Natural Language ◽  
Research Program ◽  
Formal Semantics ◽  
Natural Languages ◽  
Philosophical Significance ◽  
Human Thought ◽  
Intentional Consciousness ◽  
Real People ◽  
Physical Phenomena ◽  
Real Practice

The article discusses the reasons why modern formal semantics of natural language is an integral part of a larger philosophical research program for the study of the nature of intentionality. The purpose of this article is to show how research in the field of formal semantics of natural language became the implementation of a large philosophical research program that is focused on the nature of intentional objects, which since the time of F. Brentano have been considered an integral part of mental phenomena. Mental phenomena are opposed to physical phenomena due to their inherent intentionality (being focused on an object). In modern philosophy, it is commonly considered that the comprehension of the nature of intentionality is the key to understanding the nature of consciousness, and, consequently, the nature of man. The article shows that formal semantics represents the structure of the meaning of linguistic expressions, with the help of which human thought is formed, which is one of the main objects of intentional consciousness. In formal semantics, this representation is carried out in a rigorous, systematic, and empirically verifiable way on the basis of natural languages, that is, on those symbolic systems that real people use in real practice to shape their thoughts. The research is based on the works of G. Frege, who laid the foundation for the formal-semantic methodology. Thus, the answer is given to the question of why modern formal linguistics, which originates in the analytical philosophy of the 20th century, is a philosophically significant discipline. This response is a reaction to the objections of skeptics who believe that modern analytic philosophy cannot be considered a direction that has any serious philosophical significance.

scholarly journals PREPOSITIONS AND THEIR SYNTACTIC USE IN ALBANIAN AND ENGLISH

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 571-574
Author(s):  
Ardian Fera
Keyword(s):  
Natural Language ◽  
Computational Linguistics ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
English Language ◽  
Semantic Content ◽  
Linguistic Community ◽  
Spatial Sense ◽  
Abstract Words ◽  
Essential Contribution ◽  
Open Class

A preposition is a word or set of words that indicates location or some other relationship between a noun or pronoun and other parts of the sentence. It refers to the word or phrase which shows the relationship between one thing and another, linking nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence. They are abstract words that have no concrete meaning. They merely show the relationships between groups of words. Within a preposition, there are many different variations in meaning that are conveyed. The proper interpretation of prepositions is an important issue for automatic natural language understanding. Although the complexity of preposition usage has been argued for and documented by various scholars in linguistics, psycholinguistics, and computational linguistics, very few studies have been done on the function of prepositions in natural language processing (NLP) applications. The reason is that prepositions are probably the most polysemous category and thus, their linguistic realizations are difficult to predict and their cross-linguistic regularities difficult to identify. Prepositions play a major role in the syntactic structures of the English language and they often make an essential contribution to sentence meaning by signifying temporal and spatial relationships, as well as abstract relations involving cause and purpose, agent and instrument, manner and accompaniment, support and much more. They are sensitive linguistic elements that are culturally acceptable and very well known to all members of the same linguistic community. According to cognitive semantics, the figurative senses of a preposition are extended from its spatial senses through conceptual metaphors. In a pedagogical context, it may be useful to draw learners' attention to those aspects of a preposition's spatial sense that are especially relevant for its metaphorization processes. Prepositions have type restrictions on their arguments, they assign thematic roles, and they have a semantic content, possibly underspecified. The only difference with the other open-class categories like nouns, verbs or adjectives is that they do not have any morphology.

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