LINGUIST List 8.592

Fri Apr 25 1997

Books: Sign Lang, Logic, Lang and Information

Editor for this issue: Ljuba Veselinova <ljubalinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. Maureen Burke, Sign Lang, Logic, Lang and Information

SIGN LANGUAGE
 
Uyechi, Linda (Stanford University); THE GEOMETRY OF VISUAL PHONOLOGY;
	ISBN: 1-57586-013-9 (cloth); 1-57586-012-0 (paper); 246 pp. CSLI
	Publications 1997: http://csli-www.stanford.edu/publications/
	email: pubsroslin.stanford.edu
	Uyechi presents an extremely thorough and formal empirical
description of the various features of ASL signs, of interest to any
theoretician in developing a theory of sign phonology or in testing
claims in the theory of the phonology of spoken languages against data
from a signed language. The author also presents a formalism for
representing signs and makes a number of theoretical proposals based
on formalism. The volume's analysis indicates that the properties of
core constructs of the spoken language phonology, namely the segment
and the syllable, differ from the properties of the core constructs in
a formal framework of visual phonology.

LOGIC, LANGUAGE and INFORMATION

STUDIES IN LOGIC, LANGUAGE AND INFORMATION

Doherty, Patrick A. (Linkoping University, Sweden); PARTIALITY,
	MODALITY, AND NONMONOTONICITY; ISBN: 1-57586-031-7 (cloth);
	1-57586-030-9 (paper), 312 pp. CSLI Publications 1996:
	http://csli-www.stanford.edu/publications/
	email: pubsroslin.stanford.edu
	This edited volume of articles provides a state-of-the-art
description of research in logic-based approaches to knowledge
representation, which combines approaches to reasoning with incomplete
information that includes partial, modal, and nonmonotonic logics. The
collection contains two parts: foundations and case studies. The
foundations section provides a general overview of partiality,
multi-valued logics, use of modal logic to model partiality and
resource-limited interference, and an integration of partial and modal
logics. The case studies section provides specific studies of issues
raised in the foundations section. Several of the case studies
integrate modal and partial modal logics with nonmonotonic logics. The
contributors consider both theoretical and practical aspects of such
integration, and cover knowledge represetnation issues such as default
reasoning, theories of action and change, reason maintenance,
awareness, and automation of nonmonotonic reasoning.

Doets, Kees (University of Amsterdam); BASIC MODEL THEORY; ISBN:
	1-57586-049-X (cloth); 1-57586-048-1 (paper); 144 pp. CSLI
	Publications 1996: http://csli-www.stanford.edu/publications/
	email: pubsroslin.stanford.edu
	Model theory investigates the relationships between
mathematical structures ("models") on the one hand and formal
languages (in which statements about these structures can be
formulated) on the other. Examples of these structures are the natural
numbers with the usual arithmetical operations; the natural numbers
with the usual arithmetical operations; the structures familiar from
algebra; and ordered sets. The emphasis in this book is on first-order
languages, whose model theory is best known. An example of a result
is Lowenheim's theory (the oldest in the field): a first-order
sentence true of some uncountable structure must hold in some
countable structure as well. The author deals with second-order
languages and several of its fragments as well. As the title
indicates, this book introduces the reader to what is basic in model
theory. A special feature is its use of the Ehrenfeucht game by which
the reader is familiarized with the world of models.

Brewka, Gerhard (Technical University of Vienna); PRINCIPLES OF
	KNOWLEDGE REPRESENTATION; ISBN: 1-57586-057-0 (cloth); 1-57586-056-2
	(paper); 336 pp. CSLI Publications 1997:
	http://csli-www.stanford.edu/publications/ 
	email: pubsroslin.stanford.edu
	This book contains a collection of eight survey papers written
by some of the best researchers in foundations of knowledge
representation and reasoning. It ocvers topics such as theories of
uncertainty, nonmonotonic and causal reasoning, logic programming,
abduction, inductive logic programming, description logics, complexity
in Artificial Intelligence, and model based diagnosis. It thus
provides an up-to-date coverage of recent approaches to some of the
most challenging problems underlying knowledge representation and
Artificial Intelligence in general.

Fuhrmann, Andre' (University of Konstanz, Germany); AN ESSAY ON
	CONTRACTION; ISBN: 1-57586-055-4 (cloth); 1-57586-054-6 (paper); 120
	pp. CSLI Publications 1997:
	http://csli-www.stanford.edu/publications/ 
	email: pubsroslin.stanford.edu
	This book generalizes earlier theories of belief change to
cover all kinds of changes of sets by sets. The principal focus is
still on changes of belief sets in response to new evidence. But the
formal theory extends to all domains with a closure operation oand a
preference structure, including, for example, systems of action.
Contraction is the key notion; all other changes can be defined.
Various new applications of the theory are outlined. A sentential
version of contraction, subtraction, is proposed as a formal
counterpart to "except"-locutions in natural language. Connections are
emphasized with other areas at the interface between philosophical
logic and artificial intelligence such as reasoning form default
assumptions or from inconsistent premises.

Marx, Maarten (Imperial College, London), Polos, La'szlo' (University
	of Amsterdam), and Masuch, Michael (University of Amsterdam); ARROW
	LOGIC AND MULTI-MODAL LOGIC; ISBN: 1-57586-025-2 (cloth);
	1-57586-024-4 (paper); 264 pp. CSLI Publications 1997:
	http://csli-www.stanford.edu/publications/
	Conceived by Johan van Benthem and Yde Venema, arrow logic
started as an attempt to give a general account of the logic of
transitions. The generality of the approach provides a wide
application area ranging from philosophy to computer science. This
book gives a comprehensive survey of logical research within and
around arrow logic. Since the natural operations on transitions
include composition, inverse and identity, we can study their
logic--arrow logic--from two different perspectives, and by two
(complementary) methodologies: modal logic and the algebra of
relations. Some of the results in this volume can be interpreted as
price tages. They show what the prices of desirable properties, such
as decidability, (finite) axiomatizability, Craig interpolation
property, Beth definability etc. are in terms of semantic properties
of the logic. The book will benefit researchers with an interest in
modal logic and relation algebra.

van Benthem, Johan (University of Amsterdam and Stanford University);
	EXPLORING LOGICAL DYNAMICS; ISBN: 1-57586-059-7 (cloth);
	1-57586-058-9 (paper); 288 pp. CSLI Publications 1997:
	http://csli-www.stanford.edu/publications/ 
	email: pubsroslin.stanford.edu
	This book is an exploration of current trends in logical
theories of information flow across various fields, such as belief
revision in computer science and dynamic semantics in linguistics. It
provides one mathematical perspective encompassing all of these
fields. This framework generates a new agenda of questions concerning
dynamic inference and dynamic operators. The result is a mathematical
theory of process models, simulations between these, and modal
languages over them, which is developed in detail. New results include
theorems on expressive completeness, representation of styles of
inference, and new kinds of decidable remodeling for standard logics.