LINGUIST List 21.1334: Comp Ling/Pragmatics: Pross: 'Grounded Discourse...'

LINGUIST List 21.1334

Thu Mar 18 2010

Diss: Comp Ling/Pragmatics: Pross: 'Grounded Discourse...'

Editor for this issue: Di Wdzenczny <dilinguistlist.org>

1. Tillmann Pross, Grounded Discourse Representation Theory: Towards a semantics-pragmatics interface for human-machine collaboration

Message 1: Grounded Discourse Representation Theory: Towards a semantics-pragmatics interface for human-machine collaboration
Date: 17-Mar-2010
From: Tillmann Pross <tillmann.prossphilo.uni-stuttgart.de>
Subject: Grounded Discourse Representation Theory: Towards a semantics-pragmatics interface for human-machine collaboration
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Institution: Universität Stuttgart Program: Institute for Natural Language Processing Dissertation Status: Completed Degree Date: 2009

Author: Tillmann Pross

Dissertation Title: Grounded Discourse Representation Theory: Towards a semantics-pragmatics interface for human-machine collaboration

Dissertation URL: http://elib.uni-stuttgart.de/opus/volltexte/2010/5096/

Linguistic Field(s): Computational Linguistics Pragmatics
Dissertation Director:
Alois Knoll Hans Kamp
Dissertation Abstract:

This study introduces Grounded Discourse Representation Theory(GDRT), a formalism for the semantics-pragmatics interface of a robotin the framework of goal-oriented human-machine collaboration. Thetheory of GDRT as developed in this thesis aims at a uniformprocessing of speech, thought and action, of object recognition, motorcontrol and natural language meaning, of semantics and pragmatics.

Developing a formalism that enables a robot to naturally engage in jointinteraction is a demanding enterprise which combines major problemsfrom areas such as computer science, linguistics, robotics, logics,psychology and philosophy. The prominent aspect highlighted in thisthesis is that the combination of insights from research in thesedifferent areas leads to a revised and novel picture of the standardconceptions of meaning, reference and model theory.

From a technical point of view, GDRT embeds the establishedformalism of Discourse Representation Theory (DRT) into a system ofComputational Tree Logic and the Procedural Reasoning System. Themain technical innovations of GDRT are the consequent use ofanchors to model the referential relations between semanticrepresentations, planning and reality and the introduction of anormative account of pragmatic interpretation to the framework of truth-conditional formal semantics. The definition of an interface betweenaction theory (pragmatics) and natural language (semantics) asproposed with GDRT allows for the elegant treatment of phenomenawhich constitute the core concepts underlying the intentional use oflanguage: propositional attitudes, planning and practical reason.

This thesis can also be understood as an attempt to break the groundfor other areas of application to DRT (in the sense of a 'language ofthought' that fills in the gap between linguistics and robotics) withoutloss of the ability to process the wide range of natural languagephenomena DRT has been designed for.

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