A Computational Theory of Context Dependence
Stephen Pulman · 1994
This paper describes a reversible system for the interpretation and generation of sentences containing context dependent constructs like pronouns, focus, and ellipsis. A variant of `quasi-logical form' is used as an underspecified meaning representation, related to `resolved logical forms' via `conditional equivalences'. These equivalences define the semantics of contextually dependent constructs with respect to a given context. Higher order unification and abduction are used in relating expressions to contexts. Introduction The aim of this paper is to sketch an implementable theory of the contextual interpretation of sentences which is completely reversible; that is to say, it can be used to provide interpretations for (utterances of) sentences, given a context; and, given an interpretation and a context, generate a sentence which has that interpretation in that context. Processing in both directions is to be done using exactly the same grammar, and the same set of rules determining ...