Reference-based Discourse Structure for Reference Resolution
Helen Seville, Allan M. Ramsay · 1999
The connection between discourse structure and reference is well recognised. In the system of language understanding described, discourse structure is exploited for the purposes of reference resolution and then continuity of reference is exploited to build the discourse structure for the purposes of subsequent reference resolution. The role of discourse structure in dereferencing, pronouns, other NPs, and temporal references is explored, as is the role of these in constraining discourse structure. 1 Introduction The role of discourse structure in reference resolution, in particular pronoun and temporal reference resolution, is well recognised. However both Rhetorical Structure Theory (Mann and Thompson, 1988) and the intention-based approach to discourse structure associated with Centering Theory (Grosz and Sidner, 1986) involve high-level reasoning. Such reasoning itself presupposes the availability of interpretations in which references have already been resolved. This raises the q...