insight - Computational Linguistics - # Semantic Framework for Multilingual Sentences

A Compositional Typed Semantics for Universal Dependencies: Overcoming Multilingual Challenges

Q: How does UD Type Calculus handle ambiguity in quantifier scope?

UD Type Calculus handles ambiguity in quantifier scope by allowing for multiple possible logical forms to be derived for a single sentence. This is achieved through the flexibility of relation denotations and semantic types assigned to words and relations. When dealing with sentences involving quantifiers, such as "Every cat chased a mouse," UD-TC can compute both surface and inverse quantifier scopes by considering different composition orders of relation denotations. By assigning appropriate semantic types to relations like "nsubj" and "obj," UD-TC can capture the various interpretations that arise from ambiguous quantifier scopes.

Q: What are the implications of ignoring word order in semantic frameworks like UD-TC?

Ignoring word order in semantic frameworks like UD-TC has several implications: Cross-Linguistic Applicability: By disregarding word order, UD-TC becomes more adaptable across languages with varying syntactic structures. Focus on Meaning Structure: Emphasizing meaning over syntax allows for a deeper understanding of the relationships between words and their denotations. Increased Generality: Ignoring word order enables UD-TC to derive correct meanings regardless of how words are ordered within a sentence, leading to more generalizable results. Simplified Computation: Removing constraints related to word order simplifies the computation process, making it easier to generate logical forms without being hindered by specific language-dependent rules.

Q: How does the flexibility of relation denotations impact the computation of logical forms?

The flexibility of relation denotations plays a crucial role in enhancing the computation of logical forms in several ways: Multiple Composition Orders: Relation denotations allow for various composition orders when combining meanings, enabling different interpretations or readings based on how relations are applied. Handling Ambiguity: The ability to assign different functions based on relation types helps address ambiguities present in complex sentences or structures where multiple interpretations are possible. Semantic Precision: By specifying semantic roles within relations (e.g., subject, object), relation denotations ensure precise alignment between arguments and their respective roles during meaning derivation. Generalizability Across Languages: The flexible nature of relation denotations makes it easier for UD Type Calculus to accommodate diverse linguistic constructions found across different languages while maintaining consistency in deriving accurate meanings from varied syntactic structures. By leveraging this flexibility effectively, UD-TC can produce comprehensive and contextually relevant logical forms that capture nuanced semantics inherent in natural language expressions across multilingual contexts efficiently and accurately.

Core Concepts

The authors propose a compositional, principled semantic framework called UD Type Calculus to derive meanings from sentences in multiple languages. By leveraging language-general connections between meaning and syntax, they aim to extend insights across various linguistic constructions.

Abstract

The content introduces UD Type Calculus as a solution to deriving meanings from sentences in multiple languages by utilizing language-general connections between meaning and syntax. The framework is evaluated on a large corpus, showing promising results in producing correct logical forms. The discussion includes comparisons with related works like UDepLambda and UD-Boxer, highlighting the strengths of UD Type Calculus.

The theoretical choices made in constructing the lexicon are outlined, explaining the semantic types assigned to nouns and verbs. Examples illustrate the computation of logical forms for complex sentence structures involving quantifier scope ambiguity and relative clauses. A comparison with Combinatory Categorial Grammar (CCG) is provided, emphasizing differences in word meaning combination and handling of word order.

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Stats

Languages may encode similar meanings using different sentence structures.
UD Type Calculus can produce meanings comparable with baseline.
Logical forms are computed for over 16,000 sentences across four languages.
Multiple composition orders of relations are possible in UD Type Calculus.

Quotes

"We introduce UD Type Calculus, a compositional, principled system of semantic types and logical forms."
"UD-TC can derive correct meanings for sentences with various syntactic structures."
"Our experiment shows that UD-TC can generate logical forms comparable with an existing baseline."

Key Insights Distilled From

A Compositional Typed Semantics for Universal Dependencies

by Laurestine B... at arxiv.org 03-05-2024

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2403.01187.pdf

A Compositional Typed Semantics for Universal Dependencies

Deeper Inquiries

How does UD Type Calculus handle ambiguity in quantifier scope?

UD Type Calculus handles ambiguity in quantifier scope by allowing for multiple possible logical forms to be derived for a single sentence. This is achieved through the flexibility of relation denotations and semantic types assigned to words and relations. When dealing with sentences involving quantifiers, such as "Every cat chased a mouse," UD-TC can compute both surface and inverse quantifier scopes by considering different composition orders of relation denotations. By assigning appropriate semantic types to relations like "nsubj" and "obj," UD-TC can capture the various interpretations that arise from ambiguous quantifier scopes.

What are the implications of ignoring word order in semantic frameworks like UD-TC?

Ignoring word order in semantic frameworks like UD-TC has several implications:

Cross-Linguistic Applicability: By disregarding word order, UD-TC becomes more adaptable across languages with varying syntactic structures.
Focus on Meaning Structure: Emphasizing meaning over syntax allows for a deeper understanding of the relationships between words and their denotations.
Increased Generality: Ignoring word order enables UD-TC to derive correct meanings regardless of how words are ordered within a sentence, leading to more generalizable results.
Simplified Computation: Removing constraints related to word order simplifies the computation process, making it easier to generate logical forms without being hindered by specific language-dependent rules.

How does the flexibility of relation denotations impact the computation of logical forms?

The flexibility of relation denotations plays a crucial role in enhancing the computation of logical forms in several ways:

Multiple Composition Orders: Relation denotations allow for various composition orders when combining meanings, enabling different interpretations or readings based on how relations are applied.
Handling Ambiguity: The ability to assign different functions based on relation types helps address ambiguities present in complex sentences or structures where multiple interpretations are possible.
Semantic Precision: By specifying semantic roles within relations (e.g., subject, object), relation denotations ensure precise alignment between arguments and their respective roles during meaning derivation.
Generalizability Across Languages: The flexible nature of relation denotations makes it easier for UD Type Calculus to accommodate diverse linguistic constructions found across different languages while maintaining consistency in deriving accurate meanings from varied syntactic structures.

By leveraging this flexibility effectively, UD-TC can produce comprehensive and contextually relevant logical forms that capture nuanced semantics inherent in natural language expressions across multilingual contexts efficiently and accurately.