ErgSemantics_Design

Background

Linguistic Design Principles

Design principles for DELPH-IN/MRS semantic representations identified during the Hankø meeting:

• Interface representation should include all information that is constrained by the grammar
• Interface representation should be highly normalized, abstracting away from details of surface syntax
• Close paraphrases should lead to comparable or identical structures in the interface representation
  • Ex: Predicative copula does not contribute an EP (The fierce dog barks ~ The dog that is fierce barks)
  • Ex: Dative alternation, passive (modulo discourse rel)
• Minimize ambiguity
  • Corollary: Differentiate lexical predicates only if that distinction corresponds to morphosyntactic differences
• Decomposition is desirable, but not a goal in itself. If the predicates required for decomposition exist, then it is good.

cf. Copestake et al 2005 and "Slacker Semantics" (Copestake 2009)

Intrinsic Arguments on Adjectives and Adverbs

Predicate Hierarchies