Alle Publikationen
2018
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(2018): Towards a framework for computational persuasion with applications in behaviour change1. In: Argument & Computation 9 (1), S. 15-40. DOI: 10.3233/AAC-170032
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3233/AAC-170032 Abstract: Persuasion is an activity that involves one party trying to induce another party to believe something or to do something. It is an important and multifaceted human facility. Obviously, sales and marketing is heavily dependent on persuasion. But many other activities involve persuasion such as a doctor persuading a patient to drink less alcohol, a road safety expert persuading drivers to not text while driving, or an online safety expert persuading users of social media sites to not reveal too much personal information online. As computing becomes involved in every sphere of life, so too is persuasion a target for applying computer-based solutions. An automated persuasion system (APS) is a system that can engage in a dialogue with a user (the persuadee) in order to persuade the persuadee to do (or not do) some action or to believe (or not believe) something. To do this, an APS aims to use convincing arguments in order to persuade the persuadee. Computational persuasion is the study of formal models of dialogues involving arguments and counterarguments, of user models, and strategies, for APSs. A promising application area for computational persuasion is in behaviour change. Within healthcare organizations, government agencies, and non-governmental agencies, there is much interest in changing behaviour of particular groups of people away from actions that are harmful to themselves and/or to others around them.
Keywords: Argumentation, argumentation strategies, Argumentationsstrategie, Argumentationstheorie, automated persuasion system (APS), Automated Persuasion Systems (APS), computational models of argument, Computational persuasion, Computerbasierte Persuasion, dialogical argumentation, doppelter Treffer, Eliminierung von Fehlverhalten, Fehlverhalten, frame semantics, Gesellschaftsprofit, Gruppenverhalten / Joint Action, Intellektualtechnik, Kognitionstheorie, Kognitionswissenschaft/Social Sciences/Humanities, Mensch-Technik-Relationen (MTR), Observablen/Kriterien für sozial angemessenes Verhalten und dessen Bewertung, Persuasion, persuasion dialogues, persuasive arguments, Politik, probabilistic argumentation, Realtechnik, Soziale Angemessenheit, Sozialer Raum / Kultureller Kontext, Sprachroboter, Sprachverarbeitung, Technik, Überreden, Überzeugung, Umgangsformen, Verführung -
(2018): Argumentation mining. How can a machine acquire common sense and world knowledge?. In: Argument & Computation 9 (1), S. 1-14. DOI: 10.3233/AAC-170025Keywords: Allgemeiner Sinn, Ambiguität, Argumentation, argumentation mining, Argumentationssuche, Argumentationstheorie, argumentative text processing, Common Sense, Deep Learning, fortgeschrittene interaktive Geräte, frame semantics, Kognitionswissenschaft/Social Sciences/Humanities, Lebenswissen, Linguistik, Mensch-Technik-Relationen (MTR), Natural language understanding, Neural Networks, Realtechnik, representation learning, Sprachverarbeitung, Sprachverstehen, Technik, unsupervised, Voraussetzungen für sozial angemessenes Verhalten, Weltwissen, world knowledge
2017
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(2017): Decoding images. Toward a theory of pictorial framing. In: Discourse & Society 28 (4), S. 327-352
Abstract: Using data from the Egyptian public discourse on the United States, this article lays out the foundation for building a general theory of pictorial framing. In this theory, at the most general level, the concept of pictorial framing refers to subtle alterations in the visual presentation of judgment and choice problems. Specifically, pictures are viewed as constructions, and pictorial meaning is seen as an intricate web of connected frames. The article thus adopts the view that a visual grammar is part of cognitive science and is fundamentally concerned with the relation between what goes on in the human mind and manifestations of this activity. The article draws on insights from blending model (Fauconnier and Turner, 2002), Relevance Theory (Sperber and Wilson, 1995) and frame semantics (Fillmore, 1985), discussing a large corpus of 90 multimodal cartoons on the United States.
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(2017): Event-based knowledge reconciliation using frame embeddings and frame similarity. In: KNOWLEDGE-BASED SYSTEMS 13, S. 192-203
Abstract: This paper proposes an evolution over MERGILO, a tool for reconciling knowledge graphs extracted from text, using graph alignment and word similarity. The reconciled knowledge graphs are typically used for multi-document summarization, or to detect knowledge evolution across document series. The main point of improvement focuses on event reconciliation i.e., reconciling knowledge graphs generated by text about two similar events described differently. In order to gather a complete semantic representation of events, we use FRED semantic web machine reader, jointly with Framester, a linguistic linked data hub represented using a novel formal semantics for frames. Framester is used to enhance the extracted event knowledge with semantic frames. We extend MERGILO with similarities based on the graph structure of semantic frames and the subsumption hierarchy of semantic roles as defined in Framester. With an effective evaluation strategy similarly as used for MERGILO, we show the improvement of the new approach (MERGILO plus semantic frame/role similarities) over the baseline.
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(2017): Event-based knowledge reconciliation using frame embeddings and frame similarity. In: KNOWLEDGE-BASED SYSTEMS 13, S. 192-203
Abstract: This paper proposes an evolution over MERGILO, a tool for reconciling knowledge graphs extracted from text, using graph alignment and word similarity. The reconciled knowledge graphs are typically used for multi-document summarization, or to detect knowledge evolution across document series. The main point of improvement focuses on event reconciliation i.e., reconciling knowledge graphs generated by text about two similar events described differently. In order to gather a complete semantic representation of events, we use FRED semantic web machine reader, jointly with Framester, a linguistic linked data hub represented using a novel formal semantics for frames. Framester is used to enhance the extracted event knowledge with semantic frames. We extend MERGILO with similarities based on the graph structure of semantic frames and the subsumption hierarchy of semantic roles as defined in Framester. With an effective evaluation strategy similarly as used for MERGILO, we show the improvement of the new approach (MERGILO plus semantic frame/role similarities) over the baseline.
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(2017): Stereotype negation in Frame Semantics. In: Glossa: a journal of general linguistics 2 (1). DOI: 10.5334/gjgl.293Keywords: affixation, contextual coercion, frame semantics, Framesemantik, Frame-Semantik, Intellektualtechnik, Kogn. Architektur, Kontext, lexical negation, lexical rules, Lexik, Linguistik, Mensch-Technik-Relationen (MTR), Negation, Observablen/Kriterien für sozial angemessenes Verhalten und dessen Bewertung, Sprachgebrauch, Sprachverstehen, Status / biologische Marker, Technik
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(2017): Structured learning for spoken language understanding in human-robot interaction. In: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ROBOTICS RESEARCH 36 (5-7), S. 660-683
Abstract: Robots are slowly becoming a part of everyday life, being marketed for commercial applications such as telepresence, cleaning or entertainment. Thus, the ability to interact via natural language with non-expert users is becoming a key requirement. Even if user utterances can be efficiently recognized and transcribed by automatic speech recognition systems, several issues arise in translating them into suitable robotic actions and most of the existing solutions are strictly related to a specific scenario. In this paper, we present an approach to the design of natural language interfaces for human robot interaction, to translate spoken commands into computational structures that enable the robot to execute the intended request. The proposed solution is achieved by combining a general theory of language semantics, i.e. frame semantics, with state-of-the-art methods for robust spoken language understanding, based on structured learning algorithms. The adopted data driven paradigm allows the development of a fully functional natural language processing chain, that can be initialized by re-using available linguistic tools and resources. In addition, it can be also specialized by providing small sets of examples representative of a target newer domain. A systematic benchmarking resource, in terms of a rich and multi-layered spoken corpus has also been created and it has been used to evaluate the natural language processing chain. Our results show that our processing chain, trained with generic resources, provides a solid baseline for command understanding in a service robot domain. Moreover, when domain-dependent resources are provided to the system, the accuracy of the achieved interpretation always improves.
Keywords: Algorithmen, doppelter Treffer, frame semantics, Frame-Semantik, Interaktion, Korpus, Mensch-Maschine-Kommunikation, Mensch-Technik-Interaktion, Mensch-Technik-Relationen (MTR), narürliche Sprache, natural language interface, Observablen/Kriterien für sozial angemessenes Verhalten und dessen Bewertung, Realtechnik, Robotik, Serviceroboter, Soziale Angemessenheit, Soziale Robotik, speech processing, Sprache, Sprachgebrauch, Sprachverarbeitung, Sprachverstehen, Status / biologische Marker, structured learning algorithm, Technik -
(2017): Online Recognition of Daily Activities by Color-Depth Sensing and Knowledge Models. In: SENSORS 17 (7)
Abstract: Visual activity recognition plays a fundamental role in several research fields as a way to extract semantic meaning of images and videos. Prior work has mostly focused on classification tasks, where a label is given for a video clip. However, real life scenarios require a method to browse a continuous video flow, automatically identify relevant temporal segments and classify them accordingly to target activities. This paper proposes a knowledge-driven event recognition framework to address this problem. The novelty of the method lies in the combination of a constraint-based ontology language for event modeling with robust algorithms to detect, track and re-identify people using color-depth sensing (Kinect® sensor). This combination enables to model and recognize longer and more complex events and to incorporate domain knowledge and 3D information into the same models. Moreover, the ontology-driven approach enables human understanding of system decisions and facilitates knowledge transfer across different scenes. The proposed framework is evaluated with real-world recordings of seniors carrying out unscripted, daily activities at hospital observation rooms and nursing homes. Results demonstrated that the proposed framework outperforms state-of-the-art methods in a variety of activities and datasets, and it is robust to variable and low-frame rate recordings. Further work will investigate how to extend the proposed framework with uncertainty management techniques to handle strong occlusion and ambiguous semantics, and how to exploit it to further support medicine on the timely diagnosis of cognitive disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Keywords: activities of daily living, activity recognition, assisted living, Bildsemantik, color-depth sensing, complex events, Ereigniserkennung, Ereignisverständnis, frame semantics, Informations- & Kommunikationstechnik, Knowledge representation, Kognitive Skills/Social Cognition, Mensch-Technik-Relationen (MTR), people detection and tracking, Realtechnik, senior monitoring, Sprachverstehen, Technik, Voraussetzungen für sozial angemessenes Verhalten, Weltwissen -
(2017): REVEALING OF POTENTIAL SLOTS OF THE FRAME TOLERANCE (IN GERMAN, AMERICAN AND RUSSIAN LINGUOCULTURES). In: TOMSK STATE UNIVERSITY JOURNAL (414), S. 5-13Keywords: frame semantics, Ohne Abstract oder Text
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(2017): FinnFN 1.0. The Finnish frame semantic database. In: NORDIC JOURNAL OF LINGUISTICS 40 (3), S. 287-311
Abstract: The article describes the process of creating a Finnish language FrameNet or FinnFN, based on the original English language FrameNet hosted at the International Computer Science Institute in Berkeley, California. We outline the goals and results relating to the FinnFN project and especially to the creation of the FinnFrame corpus. The main aim of the project was to test the universal applicability of frame semantics by annotating real Finnish using the same frames and annotation conventions as in the original Berkeley FrameNet project. From Finnish newspaper corpora, 40,721 sentences were automatically retrieved and manually annotated as example sentences evoking certain frames. This became the FinnFrame corpus. Applying the Berkeley FrameNet annotation conventions to the Finnish language required some modifications due to Finnish morphology, and a convention for annotating individual morphemes within words was introduced for phenomena such as compounding, comparatives and case endings. Various questions about cultural salience across the two languages arose during the project, but problematic situations occurred only in a few examples, which we also discuss in the article. The article shows that, barring a few minor instances, the universality hypothesis of frames is largely confirmed for languages as different as Finnish and English.
Keywords: cultural salience, FinnFN, frame semantics, FrameNet, Korpus, Korpusanalyse, Kulturvergleich, Linguistik -
(2017): Reasoning about Imprecise Beliefs in Multi-Agent Systems with PDT Logic. In: KI - Künstliche Intelligenz 31 (1), S. 63-71. DOI: 10.1007/s13218-016-0455-7Keywords: abductive reasoning, Abduktion, abduktives Schließen, Agenten, Agenten-Überzeugung, Angemessenheit von Überzeugungen, Bedeutung, Belief updates, deutsche Community, Epistemische Logik/Modallogik/Doxastische Logik/Wissenslogik, Formalisierung, frame semantics, imprecise beliefs, Imprecise probabilities, Intellektualtechnik, Knowledge representation, Kogn. Architektur, kognitive Architekturen, Künstliche Intelligenz, Mensch-Technik-Relationen (MTR), model, Modell, Modellierung, multi-agent systems, Multi-Agenten-Systeme, PDT Logic, Probabilistic Doxastic Temporal Logic, Realtechnik, Technik, Ungenaue Überzeugungen, Wahrscheinlichkeit
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(2017): Cut-free sequent calculi for logics characterized by finite linear Kripke frames. In: LOGIC JOURNAL OF THE IGPL 25 (5), S. 686-696
Abstract: In this article, we give a cut-free sequent calculus ≪n for the logic SIL(Ln) characterized by the family of finite linear Kripke frames whose heights are at most n. We also give a proof-theoretic decision procedure for SIL(Ln) by the use of ≪n.
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(2017): Elaborating time in space. The structure and function of space-motion metaphors of time. In: LANGUAGE AND COGNITION 9 (2), S. 191-253
Abstract: This paper studies the principles according to which spatial and motion concepts metaphorically structure temporal concepts in some languages. There are two types of space–motion metaphor of time, distinguished by whether or not the metaphor is structured by a person’s perspective. “Christmas is approaching” and “We are approaching Christmas” are perspectival. “New Year’s follows Christmas” is not. This contrast in deixis and frame of reference is linguistically relevant whether the contrast has to do with imagination or external reality. Study of experiential motivations and analysis into primary metaphors helps reveal the particular ways spatial and motion concepts function in each type of metaphor. One focus is accounting for the contrasting temporal meanings that words for in-front and behind can have. For example, “Ahead of us” is later than Now, while “ahead of Christmas” is earlier than Christmas. We find that the temporal ‘directions’ expressed in the contrasting frames of reference are not opposites. Rather, they are motivated by different kinds of temporal experience. This project investigates the fundamental spatial relations that structure temporal concepts; for example co-location vs. separation. But since motion involves time, purely spatial structure is limited. Conceptual blending analysis reveals that the source and target frames of the perspectival metaphors share an aspectual – i.e., temporal – generic structure. Thus a dichotomy between ‘space’ and ‘time’ is of limited utility in describing space–motion metaphors of time. Instead, the analysis has to deal with the specific spatial and temporal concepts that function in each metaphor.
Keywords: Bewegungsbasiertes Verstehen, Deiktik, deixis, Embodiment, frame semantics, Kognitionswissenschaft/Social Sciences/Humanities, Linguistik, Observablen/Kriterien für sozial angemessenes Verhalten und dessen Bewertung, Sprache, Sprachgebrauch, Sprachverstehen, Status / biologische Marker, temporal concepts, Zeit in der Sprache, Zeit und raumzeitliche Bewegung, Zeitgefühl -
(2017): Key-frame Extraction With Semantic Graphs in Assembly Processes. In: IEEE ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION LETTERS 2 (3), S. 1264-1271
Abstract: In this letter, we present a novel method for key-frame extraction in assembly processes, with the support of visual sensors. The method is based on the construction of a sequence of weighted graphs containing the semantics of the underlying scene, encoded as primitive temporal and spatial relations between the involved objects. The objects are modeled as three-dimensional ellipsoids, with the formulation of the minimum volume covering ellipsoid problem as a convex optimization program, which is solved by an efficient algorithm. The new models are used in the sequence of actions-relations to increase the accuracy of the key-frame extraction, by extending the states encoded in the graphs. We present and analyze the method, followed by preliminary experimental results, and provide significant evidence on its potential.
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(2017): If you want a quick kiss, make it count. How choice of syntactic construction affects event construal. In: Journal of Memory and Language 94, S. 254-271. DOI: 10.1016/j.jml.2016.12.001Keywords: Ähnlichkeit, Dauer, Disziplin, Ereignis, Ereignisähnlichkeit, Ereignisdauer, Ereignisinterpretation, Ereignisverständnis, Events, frame semantics, Individuation, Informations- & Kommunikationstechnik, Intellektualtechnik, Interpretation, Kogn. Architektur, Kognitionswissenschaft/Social Sciences/Humanities, kognitive Architekturen, Künstliche Intelligenz, Lexical aspect, Lexik, Light verb constructions, Linguistic framing, Linguistik, Mass–count distinction, Mensch-Technik-Relationen (MTR), Observablen/Kriterien für sozial angemessenes Verhalten und dessen Bewertung, Realtechnik, Soziale Angemessenheit, Sprachgebrauch, Sprachverstehen, Status / biologische Marker, Syntax, Technik, Verständnis
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(2017): Translating the FAITH Frame. A Study of Two Translated Egyptian Novels. In: Complutense Journal of English Studies 25, S. 125-142. DOI: 10.5209/CJES.57598
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5209/CJES.57598 Abstract: This study, which is part of a larger study on the use of frame semantics in the translation of cultural elements from Arabic into English, isolates the instances where the characters from two modern Egyptian novels use language to identify themselves as members of a particular religious group, which corresponds to the frame generic→faith, and examines the manner in which these instances are translated into English. In this sense, faith is a generic frame because it dictates a particular set of behaviors, both linguistic and ideological, that is enforced by the faith community and practiced by the individuals within it. This faith community is a subset of the language community that uses a set of expressions considered typical of this community to the point where its members are recognizable through the use of these expressions. The translation issue at hand is that the TL may not offer the same possibilities to evoke a similar frame reflecting religious identity.
Keywords: Arabic literature, English translation of, faith/religion, frame generic, frame semantics, Frame-Semantik, generic frame, generic frames, Glaube, Identität, Identitätsstiftung, Kognitionswissenschaft/Social Sciences/Humanities, Kultur, Linguistik und Ideologie, Literaturwissenschaft, Religion, semantic frames, Soziale Angemessenheit, translating religious expressions, Ideologie, "Faith Frame" 2016
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(2016): Semantic language models with deep neural networks. In: COMPUTER SPEECH AND LANGUAGE 40, S. 1-22
Abstract: In this paper we explore the use of semantics in training language models for automatic speech recognition and spoken language understanding. Traditional language models (LMs) do not consider the semantic constraints and train models based on fixed-sized word histories. The theory of frame semantics analyzes word meanings and their constructs by using "semantic frames". Semantic frames represent a linguistic scene with its relevant participants and their relations. They are triggered by target words and include slots which are filled by frame elements. We present semantic LMs (SELMs), which use recurrent neural network architectures and the linguistic scene of frame semantics as context. SELMs incorporate semantic features which are extracted from semantic frames and target words. In this way, long-range and "latent" dependencies, i.e. the implicit semantic dependencies between words, are incorporated into LMs. This is crucial especially when the main aim of spoken language systems is understanding what the user means. Semantic features consist of low-level features, where frame and target information is directly used; and deep semantic encodings, where deep autoencoders are used to extract semantic features. We evaluate the performance of SELMs on publicly available corpora: the Wall Street Journal read-speech corpus and the LUNA human-human conversational corpus. The encoding of semantic frames into SELMs improves the word recognition performance and especially the recognition performance of the target words, the meaning bearing elements of semantic frames. We assess the performance of SELMs for the understanding tasks and we show that SELMs yield better semantic frame identification performance compared to recurrent neural network LMs.
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(2016): Epistemic logics for sceptical agents. In: JOURNAL OF LOGIC AND COMPUTATION 26 (6), S. 1815-1841
Abstract: In this article, we introduce an epistemic modal operator modelling knowledge over distributive non-associative full Lambek calculus with a negation. Our approach is based on the relational semantics for substructural logics: we interpret the elements of a relational frame as information states consisting of collections of data. The principal epistemic relation between the states is the one of being a reliable source of information, on the basis of which we explicate the notion of knowledge as information confirmed by a reliable source. From this point of view it is natural to define the epistemic operator formally as the backward-looking diamond modality. The framework is a generalization and extension of the system of relevant epistemic logic proposed by Majer and Peliš (2009, college Publications, 123–135) and developed by Bílková et al. (2010, college Publications, 22–38). The system is modular in the sense that the axiomatization of the epistemic operator is sound and complete with respect to a wide class of background logics, which makes the system potentially applicable to a wide class of epistemic contexts. Our system admits a weak form of logical omniscience (the monotonicity rule), but avoids stronger ones (a necessitation rule and a K-axiom) as well as some closure properties discussed in normal epistemic logics (like positive and negative introspection). For these properties we provide characteristic frame conditions, so that they can be present in the system if they are considered to be appropriate for some specific epistemic context. We also prove decidability of the weakest epistemic logic we consider, using a filtration method. Finally, we outline further extensions of our framework to a multiagent system
Keywords: Agenten, Agenten-Überzeugung, Disziplin, epistemic modal operator, Epistemische Logik/Modallogik/Doxastische Logik/Wissenslogik, Epistemische Operatoren, frame semantics, Intellektualtechnik, Kogn. Architektur, kognitive Architekturen, Künstliche Intelligenz, Mensch-Technik-Relationen (MTR), mögliche Welten, mögliche Welten Theorie, multi-agent systems, Multi-Agenten-Systeme, Philosophie, possible worlds theory, Realtechnik, relational frame, Sprache, Sprachtheorie, Sprachverstehen, Technik -
(2016): Smell in Polish. Lexical Semantics and Cultural Values. In: JOURNAL OF SLAVIC LINGUISTICS 24 (2), S. 273-299
Abstract: Verbs of perception have been typically classified into three semantic groups. Gisborne (2010) calls the three categories agentive (listen class), experiencer (hear class), and percept (sound class). Examples pertaining to the sense of smell in English use the same lexical item (smell), while in Polish, the three senses of smell are expressed with different verbs: wąchać (agentive), czuć zapach (experiencer), and pachnieć (percept). In metaphorical extensions of the verbs of sensory perception these verbs often stand for mental states, as meaning shifts typically involve the transfer from concrete to abstract domains. I show that the metaphorical extensions of pachnieć and percept to smell are quite different. Not only does pachnieć not suggest bad character or dislikeable characteristics, it actually conveys the opposite, as in the expression coś komuś pachnie ‘something is attractive to someone’ or when used without a modifier. These differences stem from the positive meaning of pachnieć and the negative meaning of to smell. Since the percept verbs of smell seem to be intrinsically positively or negatively valued, they do not lend themselves to universal Mind-as-Body extensions. I also consider some of the dramatic frequency contrasts between Polish and English smell constructions and show they can have their root in different cultural scripts underlying modes of speaking (pachnieć jak vs. smell like), framing of experiences (czuć zapach vs. experiencer to smell), polysemy, and different constructional capabilities (wąchać vs. to sniff).
Keywords: Agent, Agentive, Biologische Marker, Disziplin, Erlebender, Experiencer, frame semantics, Geräuschhören, Gisborne, Hear, Hören, Kultur, Kulturdifferenz, Kulturspezifizität, Kulturtheorie, Kulturvergleich, Linguistik, Listen, Percept, Perzept, Riechen, schnüffeln, Semantik, Semantische Gruppen, Smell, Smell like, Sniff, sound, Sprachgebrauch, Sprachverstehen, Status, Verben, Wahrnehmung, Wahrnehmung und Sprache, Wahrnehmungsverben, Zuhören -
(2016): ’Walking’ and ’running’ in English and German The conceptual semantics of verbs of human locomotion. In: REVIEW OF COGNITIVE LINGUISTICS 14 (2), S. 303-336
Abstract: This study examines the conceptual semantics of human locomotion verbs in two languages – English and German – using the Natural Semantic Metalanguage approach. Based on linguistic evidence, it proposes semantic explications for English walk and run, and their nearest counterparts in German, i.e. laufen (in two senses, roughly, ‘run’ and ‘go by walking’), rennen (roughly, ‘run quickly’), gehen (roughly, ‘go/walk’), and the expression zu Fuß gehen (roughly, ‘go on foot’). Somewhat surprisingly for such closely related languages, the conceptual semantics turns out to be significantly different in the two languages, particularly in relation to manner-of-motion. On the other hand, it is shown that the same four-part semantic template (with sections Lexicosyntactic Frame, Prototypical Scenario, Manner, and Potential Outcome) applies in both languages. We consider the implications for systematic contrastive semantics and for lexical typology.
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(2016): The semantic isomorphism theorem in abstract algebraic logic. In: Annals of Pure and Applied Logic 167 (12), S. 1298-1331
Abstract: One of the most interesting aspects of Blok and Pigozzi’s algebraizability theory is that the notion of algebraizable logic L can be characterised by means of Syntactic and Semantic Isomorphism Theorems. While the Syntactic Isomorphism Theorem concerns the relation between the theories of the algebraizable logic L and those of the equational consequence relative to its equivalent algebraic semantics K, the Semantic Isomorphism Theorem describes the interplay between the filters of L on an arbitrary algebra A and the congruences ofA relative to K. The pioneering insight of Blok and Jónsson, and the further generalizations by Galatos, Tsinakis, Gil-Férez and Russo, showed that the concept of algebraizability was not intrinsic to the connection between a logic and an equational consequence, thus inaugurating the abstract theory of equivalence between structural closure operators. However all these works focus only on the Syntactic Isomorphism Theorem, disregarding the semantic aspects present in the original theory. In this paper we fill this gap by introducing the notion of compositional lattice, which acts on a category of evaluational frames. In this new framework the non-linguistic flavour of the Semantic Isomorphism Theorem can be naturally recovered. In particular, we solve the problem of finding sufficient and necessary conditions for transferring a purely syntactic equivalence to the semantic level as in the Semantic Isomorphism Theorem.
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(2016): Frames, polarity and causation. In: CORPORA 11 (2), S. 259-290
Abstract: A polarity-sensitive item (PSI), as traditionally defined, is an expression that is restricted to either an affirmative or negative context. PSIs like ‘lift a finger’ and ‘all the time in the world’ sub-serve discourse routines like understatement and emphasis. Lexical–semantic classes are increasingly invoked in descriptions of the properties of PSIs. Here, we use English corpus data and the tools of Frame Semantics (Fillmore, 1982, 1985) to explore Israel's (2011) observation that the semantic role of a PSI determines how the expression fits into a contextually constructed scalar model. We focus on a class of exceptions implied by Israel's model: cases in which a given PSI displays two countervailing patterns of polarity sensitivity, with attendant differences in scalar entailments. We offer a set of case studies of polarity-sensitive expressions – including verbs of attraction and aversion like ‘can live without’, monetary units like ‘a red cent’, comparative adjectives and time-span adverbials – that demonstrate that the interpretation of a given PSI in a given polar context is based on multiple factors. These factors include the speaker's perspective on and affective stance towards the described event, available inferences about causality and, perhaps most critically, particulars of the predication, including the verb or adjective's frame membership, the presence or absence of an ability modal like can, the grammatical construction used and the range of contingencies evoked by the utterance.
2015
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(2015): Disrupting morphosyntactic and lexical semantic processing has opposite effects on the sample entropy of neural signals. In: BRAIN RESEARCH 1604, S. 1-14
Abstract: Converging evidence in neuroscience suggests that syntax and semantics are dissociable in brain space and time. However, it is possible that partly disjoint cortical networks, operating in successive time frames, still perform similar types of neural computations. To test the alternative hypothesis, we collected EEG data while participants read sentences containing lexical semantic or morphosyntactic anomalies, resulting in N400 and P600 effects, respectively. Next, we reconstructed phase space trajectories from EEG time series, and we measured the complexity of the resulting dynamical orbits using sample entropy an index of the rate at which the system generates or loses information over time. Disrupting morphosyntactic or lexical semantic processing had opposite effects on sample entropy: it increased in the N400 window for semantic anomalies, and it decreased in the P600 window for morphosyntactic anomalies. These findings point to a fundamental divergence in the neural computations supporting meaning and grammar in language. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Bedeutung, Bedeutung und Grammatik, Bedeutungszusammenhang, frame semantics, Grammar, Grammatiktheorie, Intellektualtechnik, Kogn. Architektur, Kognitionswissenschaft/Social Sciences/Humanities, Kognitive Skills/Social Cognition, lexikalische Semantik, Meaning, Mensch-Technik-Relationen (MTR), Neurowissenschaften, Sprache, Sprachverarbeitung, Sprachverstehen, Technik, Voraussetzungen für sozial angemessenes Verhalten -
(2015): Framing Event Variables. In: ERKENNTNIS 80, S. 31-60
Abstract: I find myself writing two papers that are due around the same time. This one develops an objection, based on Davidson’s (1967a) analysis of action reports, to truth-theoretic accounts of linguistic meaning. The other one is about the relevance of Liar Paradoxes for such accounts; see Pietroski (forthcoming). In both papers, the first numbered sentence is (1). (1) The first numbered sentence in “Framing Event Variables ” is false. But here, (1) is simply a reminder of a familiar difficulty for the idea that declarative sentences of a Human Language have truth conditions; where for these purposes, a Human Language is a spoken or signed language that any biologically normal child can acquire given an ordinary course of linguistic experience. In my view, (2) and (3) present further difficulties for this idea. (2) Alvin chased Theodore gleefully and athletically but not skillfully. (3) Theodore chased Alvin gleelessly and unathletically but skillfully. Following Davidson and others, I think action reports have “eventish ” logical forms like (2a-3a).
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(2015): Sentilo. Frame-Based Sentiment Analysis. In: COGNITIVE COMPUTATION 7 (2), S. 211-225
Abstract: Sentilo is an unsupervised, domain-independent system that performs sentiment analysis by hybridizing natural language processing techniques and semantic Web technologies. Given a sentence expressing an opinion, Sentilo recognizes its holder, detects the topics and subtopics that it targets, links them to relevant situations and events referred to by it and evaluates the sentiment expressed on each topic/subtopic. Sentilo relies on a novel lexical resource, which enables a proper propagation of sentiment scores from topics to subtopics, and on a formal model expressing the semantics of opinion sentences. Sentilo provides its output as a RDF graph, and whenever possible it resolves holders’ and topics’ identity on Linked Data.