Bridging Inferences: Constraining and Resolving Underspecification in Discourse Interpretation

✍ Scribed by Matthias Irmer

• Publisher: De Gruyter
• Year: 2011
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 424
• Series: Language, Context and Cognition; 11
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This book presents work on bridging inferences in discourse interpretation. It develops a formalization that permits integrating indirect anaphora in the construction of a structured discourse representation. From a broader perspective, it provides a suitable dynamic-logic framework which can account for underspecifications in cohesion and coherence of discourses by either inferentially resolving or contextually constraining them. Special attention is given to the resolution of bridging anaphora by means of integrating encyclopedic knowledge encoded in FrameNet into a formal theory of discourse structure as provided by Segmented Discourse Representation Theory. A second focus lies on the discourse effects of Clitic Left Dislocation in Spanish. In addition, the book provides a synopsis of the problems, methods, approaches, and desiderata of research on text, context, and discourse interpretation from formal, computational, cognitive, and psychological points of view. Central topics include pragmatic inferences and defeasible reasoning, the Common Ground, cohesion and anaphora resolution, coherence and discourse structure, and discourse interpretation. The volume may thus also serve as a reference book on text meaning and context.

✦ Table of Contents

Introduction
1 Pragmatic Inferences
1.1 Semantic Underspecification and Pragmatic Enrichment
1.1.1 Underspecified Semantics
1.1.2 Accounts of Pragmatic Inference
1.1.2.1 Conversational Implicatures
1.1.2.2 Generalized Conversational Implicatures
1.1.2.3 Explicatures
1.1.2.4 Primary and Secondary Pragmatic Processes
1.1.2.5 Abductive Inferences
1.1.2.6 Conclusion
1.1.3 Properties of Pragmatic Inferences
1.2 Formal Approaches to Defeasible Reasoning
1.2.1 Default Logic
1.2.2 Circumscription
1.2.3 Commonsense Entailment
1.2.4 Abductive Reasoning
1.2.5 Conclusion
1.3 Pragmatic Inferences Beyond the Sentence Level
1.3.1 Text and Discourse
1.3.2 Cohesion
1.3.3 Coherence
1.3.3.1 An Intentional View on Discourse Coherence
1.3.3.2 An Informational View on Discourse Coherence
1.3.4 Looking Ahead
2 The Common Ground and Intentions in Conversations
2.1 The Common Ground
2.1.1 Definitions of Shared Knowledge
2.1.2 The Use of the Common Ground in Conversation
2.1.2.1 Evidence from Language Production
2.1.2.2 Evidence from Language Comprehension
2.1.2.3 Discussion and Conclusion
2.1.3 Establishing the Common Ground
2.1.3.1 Accumulation
2.1.3.2 Grounding
2.1.3.3 Structuring the Common Ground
2.1.4 Conclusion
2.2 Modelling Intentions in Discourses
2.2.1 Optimality Theory for Discourse Pragmatics
2.2.2 Linguistic Communication as a Game
2.2.3 Conclusion
3 The Discourse Model and Discourse Anaphora
3.1 Discourse Anaphora
3.1.1 Types and Distribution of Anaphoric Expressions
3.1.2 Syntactic and Semantic Notions of Anaphora
3.2 The Discourse Model
3.2.1 Conceptions of Discourse Models
3.2.2 Requirements on Discourse Models
3.3 Discourse Referents
3.3.1 Introducing Discourse Referents in the Discourse Model
3.3.2 Accessing Discourse Referents as Antecedents for Anaphora
3.3.2.1 Familiarity
3.3.2.2 Givenness
3.3.2.3 Accessibility
3.3.2.4 Salience
3.3.2.5 Activation
3.3.3 Conclusion
3.4 Theories of Anaphora Resolution
3.4.1 A Pragmatic Account
3.4.2 Computational Accounts
3.4.2.1 Focus Theory
3.4.2.2 Centering Theory
3.4.3 Dynamic Semantics and Discourse Representation Theory
3.4.3.1 Context as Index
3.4.3.2 Dynamic Semantics
3.4.3.3 Discourse Representation Theory
3.4.3.4 Anaphora in DRT
3.4.3.5 Discussion
3.4.4 Conclusion
4 Discourse Structure
4.1 Characteristics of Discourse Structure
4.1.1 Discourse Segments: Basic Structural Units
4.1.2 Connecting Discourse Segments
4.1.2.1 Discourse Markers
4.1.2.2 Discourse Relations
4.1.3 The Form of Discourse Structure
4.1.3.1 Sequences
4.1.3.2 Stacks
4.1.3.3 Trees
4.1.3.4 Graphs
4.1.4 Conclusion
4.2 Discourse Relations
4.2.1 Hobbs’ Coherence Relations
4.2.2 Kehler’s Three Types of Coherence
4.2.2.1 Coherence Relations: Cause-Effect
4.2.2.2 Coherence Relations: Resemblance
4.2.2.3 Coherence Relations: Contiguity
4.2.2.4 Linguistic Phenomena Explained by Kehler’s Taxonomy
4.2.2.5 Problems with Kehler’s Theory
4.2.3 Rhetorical Structure Theory
4.2.4 Rhetorical Relations in SDRT
4.2.5 Conclusion
4.3 Discourse Topic
4.3.1 Discourse Topic as Entity
4.3.2 Discourse Topic as Proposition
4.3.3 Discourse Topic as Question
4.3.3.1 Contrastive Sentence Topics
4.3.3.2 Topic-Comment Structures for Discourses
4.3.3.3 Quaestio Theory
4.3.3.4 Questions Under Discussion
4.3.4 Conclusion
5 Discourse Interpretation
5.1 Discourse Interpretation as Abduction
5.1.1 Flat Logical Forms
5.1.2 Weighted Abduction
5.1.3 Local Pragmatic Interpretation
5.1.4 Abduction in Structured Discourses
5.1.5 Conclusion
5.2 Minimal Model Generation
5.2.1 Herbrand Models for First-Order Languages
5.2.2 Generation of Discourse Models
5.2.3 Minimality of Models
5.2.4 Minimal Models and Discourse Anaphora
5.2.4.1 Resolving Pronouns by Model Generation
5.2.4.2 Equality by Default
5.2.5 Conclusion
5.3 Segmented Discourse Representation Theory
5.3.1 Representing Discourse Structures
5.3.2 Constructing Discourse Structures
5.3.2.1 The Logic of Underspecified Information Content
5.3.2.2 The Glue Logic
5.3.2.3 Discourse Update
5.3.2.4 Constraining Attachment
5.3.2.5 Maximize Discourse Coherence
5.3.3 Conclusion
6 Bridging Inferences
6.1 Bridging Anaphora
6.1.1 A Preliminary Classification
6.1.2 Corpus Studies on Anaphoric Expressions
6.1.3 Psycholinguistic Investigations
6.1.4 A Refined Classification
6.2 Bridging Relations
6.2.1 Mereological Relations
6.2.2 Relations Involving Events and Frames
6.3 Anaphora Resolution by Bridging Inferences
6.3.1 Pragmatic Accounts
6.3.2 Computational Accounts
6.3.2.1 Minimal Models for Bridging Anaphora
6.3.2.2 Automated Anaphora Resolution (Freitas, 2005)
6.3.3 Bridging in SDRT
6.3.3.1 Representing Bridging Anaphora
6.3.3.2 Resolving Bridging Anaphora
6.3.3.3 Extending SDRT by Equality by Default
6.4 Conclusion
7 Bridges Between Events
7.1 Frame Semantics and FrameNet
7.1.1 Frame Semantics
7.1.2 FrameNet
7.1.2.1 Lexical Units
7.1.2.2 Frame Elements
7.1.2.3 Relations between Frames
7.1.2.4 Relations between Frame Elements
7.2 Building Bridges using FrameNet and SDRT
7.2.1 Integrating FrameNet and SDRT
7.2.2 Representing Frame Elements in SDRT
7.2.3 Establishing Discourse Relations by FrameNet Data
7.3 Constraints on Bridging Inferences
7.3.1 Bridging Constraints
7.3.1.1 The Preference for Coreference
7.3.1.2 Plausibility and Consistency
7.3.1.3 The Right Frontier Constraint
7.3.1.4 Maximize Discourse Coherence
7.3.2 Weak Discourse Referents as Bridging Anchors
7.4 Related Approaches
7.4.1 Implicit Arguments as A-definites (Koenig & Mauner, 1999)
7.4.2 Bridging as Coercive Accommodation (Bos et al., 1995)
7.4.3 FrameNet and DRT (Bos & Nissim, 2008)
7.5 Conclusion
8 Bridging by Clitic Left Dislocation
8.1 Dislocation Constructions Across Languages
8.1.1 Left Dislocation vs. Topicalization
8.1.2 Left Dislocation vs. Focus Fronting
8.1.3 Hanging Topic Left Dislocation vs. Clitic Left Dislocation
8.1.4 Clitic Left Dislocation in Spanish
8.2 Discourse Functions of Left Dislocation
8.2.1 CLLD and Familiarity
8.2.1.1 Given Entities
8.2.1.2 Inferrable Entities
8.2.1.3 New Entities
8.2.2 CLLD and Discourse Topic
8.2.2.1 Topic Change
8.2.2.2 Topic Continuity
8.2.2.3 Conclusion
8.2.3 CLLD, Contrast, and Constraints on Discourse Structure
8.2.3.1 CLLD and Contrast
8.2.3.2 Constraints on Discourse Structure
8.2.3.3 Discussion
8.3 Semantics and Discourse Integration of Left Dislocations
8.3.1 From Syntax to Semantics
8.3.2 Towards a Discourse Semantic Representation of CLLD
8.3.3 Resolving Mereological Bridging Anaphora
8.3.3.1 Building Bridges via CLLD
8.3.3.2 Using Frame Information for Building Bridges
8.3.4 Resolving Frame-related Bridging Anaphora
8.4 Conclusion
Summary
List of Figures and Tables
List of Abbreviations
A Note on Used Corpora
Bibliography
Citation Index
Subject Index