Controlling Plural Ambiguities in Attempto Controlled English (ACE)
Uta Schwertel · 2000
Attempto Controlled English (ACE) is a controlled natural language specifically constructed to write software specifications. ACE specifications are computer-processable and can be unambiguously translated into a first-order logic language. The current version of ACE deals only with singular phenomena. We discuss how ACE can be extended with plurality. The extension proves to be difficult in that plurals are a frequent source of semantic ambiguities. ACE uses a constructive, i.e. completely controlled approach to deal with syntactic and semantic ambiguities. We outline how this strategy can be applied to reduce and eliminate plural ambiguities in ACE.