Ontological Semantics

by Nirenburg, Sergei; Raskin, Victor

• ISBN13: 9780262140867
• ISBN10: 0262140861
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-09-01
• Publisher: Mit Pr
• More Book Details
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Summary

In Ontological Semantics, Sergei Nirenburg and Victor Raskin introduce a comprehensive approach to the treatment of text meaning by computer. Arguing that being able to use meaning is crucial to the success of natural language processing (NLP) applications, they depart from the ad hoc approach to meaning taken by much of the NLP community and propose theory-based semantic methods. Ontological semantics, an integrated complex of theories, methodologies, descriptions, and implementations, attempts to systematize ideas about both semantic description as representation and manipulation of meaning by computer programs. It is built on already coordinated "microtheories" covering such diverse areas as specific language phenomena, processing heuristics, and implementation system architecture rather than on isolated components requiring future integration. Ontological semantics is constantly evolving, driven by the need to make meaning manipulation tasks such as text analysis and text generation work. Nirenburg and Raskin have therefore developed a set of heterogeneous methods suited to a particular task and coordinated at the level of knowledge acquisition and runtime system architecture implementations, a methodology that also allows for a variable level of automation in all its processes. Nirenburg and Raskin first discuss ontological semantics in relation to other fields, including cognitive science and the AI paradigm, the philosophy of science, linguistic semantics and the philosophy of language, computational lexical semantics, and studies in formal ontology. They then describe the content of ontological semantics, discussing text-meaning representation, static knowledge sources (including the ontology, the fact repository, and the lexicon), the processes involved in text analysis, and the acquisition of static knowledge.

Table of Contents

Preface	xiii
Acknowledgments	xix
PART I About Ontological Semantics	1	(156)
Chapter 1 Introduction to Ontological Semantics	5	(28)
1.1 A Model of Language-Communication Situation for Ontological Semantic Theory	9	(3)
1.1.1 Relevant Components of an Intelligent Agent's Model	10	(1)
1.1.2 Goals and Operation of the Discourse Producer	10	(1)
1.1.3 Operation of the Discourse Consumer	11	(1)
1.2 Ontological Semantics: An Initial Sketch	12	(2)
1.3 Ontological Semantics and Nonsemantic NLP Processors	14	(1)
1.4 Architectures for Comprehensive NLP Applications	15	(7)
1.4.1 The Stratified Model	16	(1)
1.4.2 The "Flat" Model	17	(1)
1.4.3 Toward Constraint-Satisfaction Architectures	18	(4)
1.5 The Major Dynamic Knowledge Sources in Ontological Semantics	22	(3)
1.5.1 The Analyzer	22	(1)
1.5.2 The Generator	23	(1)
1.5.3 World-Knowledge Maintenance and Reasoning Module	23	(2)
1.6 The Static Knowledge Sources	25	(1)
1.7 The Concept of Microtheories	26	(1)
1.8 Historical Record of Ontological Semantic Work	27	(6)
Chapter 2 Prolegomena to the Philosophy of Linguistics	33	(60)
2.1 Reasons for Philosophizing	34	(2)
2.2 Reasons for Theorizing	36	(6)
2.2.1 Introduction: Philosophy, Science, and Engineering	36	(2)
2.2.2 Reason 1: Optimization	38	(1)
2.2.3 Reason 2: Challenging Conventional Wisdom	39	(2)
2.2.4 Reason 3: Standardization and Evaluation	41	(1)
2.2.5 Reason 4: Explanation	42	(1)
2.2.6 Reason 5: Reusability	42	(1)
2.3 Components of a Theory	42	(8)
2.3.1 Purview	43	(2)
2.3.2 Premises	45	(1)
2.3.3 Body	46	(1)
2.3.4 Justification	47	(3)
2.4 Parameters of Linguistic Semantic Theories	50	(17)
2.4.1 Parameters Related to Theory Proper	51	(5)
2.4.2 Parameters Related to the Methodology Associated with a Theory	56	(7)
2.4.3 Parameters Related to the Status of Theory as Model of Human Behavior	63	(1)
2.4.4 Parameters Related to the Internal Organization of a Theory	63	(1)
2.4.5 Parameter Values and Some Theories	64	(3)
2.5 Relations among Theory, Methodology, and Applications	67	(14)
2.5.1 Theories and Applications	67	(5)
2.5.2 Blame Assignment	72	(1)
2.5.3 Methodologies for Applications	73	(1)
2.5.4 Aspects of Interactions among Theories, Applications, and Methodologies	74	(2)
2.5.5 Examples of Interactions among Theories, Applications, and Methodologies	76	(5)
2.6 Using the Parameters	81	(8)
2.6.1 Purview	82	(1)
2.6.2 Premises	83	(3)
2.6.3 Justification	86	(3)
2.7 "Postempirical" Philosophy of Linguistics	89	(4)
Chapter 3 Ontological Semantics and the Study of Meaning in Linguistics, Philosophy, and Computational Linguistics	93	(22)
3.1 Prehistory of Semantics	94	(1)
3.2 Diachrony of Word Meaning	95	(1)
3.3 Meaning and Reference	96	(1)
3.4 The Quest for Meaning Representation I: From Ogden and Richards to Bar Hillel	97	(5)
3.4.1 Option 1: Refusing to Study Meaning	97	(1)
3.4.2 Option 2: Semantic Fields, or Avoiding Metalanguage	98	(1)
3.4.3 Option 3: Componential Analysis, or the Dawn of Metalanguage	99	(1)
3.4.4 Option 4: Logic, or Importing a Metalanguage	100	(2)
3.5 The Quest for Meaning Representation II: Contemporary Approaches	102	(7)
3.5.1 Formal Semantics	102	(4)
3.5.2 Semantic vs. Syntactic Compositionality	106	(1)
3.5.3 Compositionality in Linguistic Semantics	107	(2)
3.6 A Trio of Freestanding Semantic Ideas from Outside Major Schools	109	(2)
3.7 Compositionality in Computational Semantics	111	(4)
Chapter 4 Choices for Lexical Semantics	115	(18)
4.1 Generativity	116	(6)
4.1.1 Generative Lexicon: Main Idea	116	(2)
4.1.2 Generative vs. Enumerative?	118	(1)
4.1.3 Generative Lexicon and Novel Senses	118	(2)
4.1.4 Permeative Usage?	120	(1)
4.1.5 Generative vs. Enumerative "Yardage"	121	(1)
4.2 Syntax vs. Semantics	122	(2)
4.3 Lexical Semantics and Sentential Meaning	124	(5)
4.3.1 Formal Semantics for Sentential Meaning	124	(1)
4.3.2 Ontological Semantics for Sentential Meaning	125	(3)
4.3.3 Lexical Semantics and Pragmatics	128	(1)
4.4 Description Coverage	129	(4)
Chapter 5 Formal Ontology and the Needs of Ontological Semantics	133	(24)
5.1 Ontology and Metaphysics	134	(2)
5.2 Formal Ontology	136	(11)
5.2.1 Formal Basis of Ontology	136	(2)
5.2.2 Ontology as Engineering	138	(1)
5.2.3 Ontology Interchange	139	(2)
5.2.4 The Semantic Web	141	(6)
5.3 Ontology and Natural Language	147	(7)
5.3.1 A Quick and Dirty Distinction between Ontology and Natural Language	147	(2)
5.3.2 The Real Distinction between Ontology and Natural Language	149	(5)
5.4 A Wish List for Formal Ontology from Ontological Semantics	154	(3)
PART II Ontological Semantics as Such	157	(200)
Chapter 6 Meaning Representation in Ontological Semantics	161	(30)
6.1 Meaning Proper and the Rest	161	(5)
6.2 TMR in Ontological Semantics	166	(8)
6.3 Ontological Concepts and Nonontological Parameters in TMR	174	(1)
6.4 The Nature and Format of TMR	175	(7)
6.5 Further Examples of TMR Specification	182	(5)
6.6 Synonymy and Paraphrases 186 6.7 Basic and Extended TMRs	187	(4)
Chapter 7 The Static Knowledge Sources: Ontology, Fact Repository, and Lexicons	191	(56)
7.1 The Ontology	192	(36)
7.1.1 The Format of Mikrokosmos Ontology	196	(11)
7.1.2 Inheritance	207	(2)
7.1.3 Case Roles for Predicates	209	(3)
7.1.4 Choices and Trade-Offs in Ontological Representations	212	(6)
7.1.5 Complex Events	218	(6)
7.1.6 Axiomatic Definition of Ontology	224	(4)
7.2 Fact Repository	228	(2)
7.3 The Lexicon	230	(15)
7.4 The Onomasticon	245	(2)
Chapter 8 Basic Processing in Ontological Semantic Text Analysis	247	(62)
8.1 Preprocessing	247	(4)
8.1.1 Tokenization and Morphological Analysis	248	(2)
8.1.2 Lexical Lookup	250	(1)
8.1.3 Syntactic Analysis	251	(1)
8.2 Building Basic Semantic Dependency	252	(11)
8.2.1 Establishing Propositional Structure	252	(6)
8.2.2 Matching Selectional Restrictions	258	(3)
8.2.3 Multivalued Static Selectional Restrictions	261	(2)
8.3 When Basic Procedure Returns More Than a Single Answer	263	(11)
8.3.1 Dynamic Tightening of Selectional Restrictions	264	(8)
8.3.2 When All Else Goes Wrong: Comparing Distances in Ontological Space	272	(2)
8.4 When Basic Procedure Returns No Answer	274	(10)
8.4.1 Relaxation of Selectional Restrictions	274	(1)
8.4.2 Processing Nonliteral Language	275	(4)
8.4.3 Processing Unattested Inputs	279	(3)
8.4.4 Processing Ellipsis	282	(2)
8.5 Processing Meaning Beyond Basic Semantic Dependencies	284	(17)
8.5.1 Aspect	285	(6)
8.5.2 Proposition Time	291	(4)
8.5.3 Modality	295	(6)
8.6 Processing at the Suprapropositional Level	301	(8)
8.6.1 Reference and Coreference	301	(4)
8.6.2 TMR Time	305	(1)
8.6.3 Discourse Relations	306	(2)
8.6.4 Style	308	(1)
Chapter 9 Acquisition of Static Knowledge Sources for Ontological Semantics	309	(44)
9.1 Automating Knowledge Acquisition in Ontological Semantics	311	(3)
9.2 Acquisition of Ontology	314	(8)
9.3 Acquisition of Lexicon	322	(28)
9.3.1 General Principles of Lexical Semantic Acquisition	322	(1)
9.3.2 Paradigmatic Approach to Semantic Acquisition I: "Rapid Propagation"	323	(3)
9.3.3 Paradigmatic Approach to Lexical Acquisition II: Lexical Rules	326	(5)
9.3.4 Steps in Lexical Acquisition	331	(1)
9.3.5 Polysemy Reduction	331	(8)
9.3.6 Grain Size and Practical Effability	339	(5)
9.3.7 Ontological Matching and Lexical Constraints	344	(6)
9.4 Acquisition of Fact Repository	350	(3)
Chapter 10 Conclusion	353	(4)
Notes	357	(14)
References	371	(40)
Index	411