From Syntax to Natural Logic
Instructor(s): Annie Zaenen and Lauri Karttunen
Description:
Computational Linguistics is again becoming an exciting field for linguists because it is moving from information retrieval to understanding and reasoning. This requires the integration of syntax and semantics. In this course we show how this integration can be done with LFG (Lexical Functional Grammar) and CCG (Combinatory Categorial Grammar) as syntactic frameworks and Natural Logic as our semantic approach. Most of natural language semantics aims to specify the meaning of linguistic expressions in model-theoretic terms but formulas of first- or higher-order logics do not come with any effective procedures for reasoning that is required for drawing inferences or answering questions given some natural language input. Natural Logic is a cover term for a family of formal approaches to semantics and textual inferencing as currently practiced by computational linguists. They have in common a proof theoretical rather than a model-theoretic focus and an overriding concern with feasibility.
Prerequisites:
A course in syntax and a course in semantics
LING7800-019
Days/Times:
Tue & Fri 3:30-5:15
Classroom: MUEN E 432
Areas of Linguistics:
Computational Linguistics
Semantics, Pragmatics and Discourse
Syntax and Morphology