Type Theory with Records for Natural Language Semantics*
Robin Cooper, Jonathan Ginzburg · 2015
This chapter illustrates intrinsic problems for frameworks such as possible worlds semantics and typed-feature structure (TFS) -based approaches. It begins with a discussion on the basics of type theory with records (TTR). The notion of subtype in TTR plays a central inferential role within the system. The chapter suggests that an important capability that agents have is the prediction of the type of a complete event on the basis of a partial observation of an event. Functions from observed situations to predicted situation type can be used in modeling this, taking the example of the game of fetch. The chapter sketches fundamental notions of grammar, semantic ontology, and dialogical interaction. It illustrates these notions, and also deals with metacommunicative interaction, negation, quantification, and non sentential utterances and disfluencies. Disfluencies are ubiquitous and observable in all but the briefest conversational interaction.