Using Model Generation to interpret Reciprocal Statements

Claire Gardent
Computational Linguistics
University of the Saarland, Saarbruecken

Although natural language is often ambiguous, knowledge-based reasoning often helps determine a preferred reading. In this talk, I will show that model generation can be used to model this process in the case of reciprocal statements. The proposed analysis is shown to build on insights from Dalrymple et al. 98 and Hobbs et al. 93 and to provide an integrated, computational approach to model theoretic interpretation, world knowledge reasoning and preferences.

Mary Dalrymple, Makoto Kanazawa, Yookyung Kim, Sam Mchombo, and Stanley Peters
Reciprocal Expressions and the Concept of Reciprocity. Linguistics and Philosophy 21(2), pp. 159--210. April 1998.

Hobbs, J. and M. Stickel and D. Appelt and P. Martin
Interpretation as abduction. Artificial Intelligence 63, 1993, pages 69-142.

Joint work with Karsten Konrad