Preparatory course for beginning M.Sc. students: Pragmatics 1: - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Preparatory course for beginning M.Sc. students: Pragmatics 1: - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Preparatory course for beginning M.Sc. students: Pragmatics 1: Discourse and Reference Caroline Sporleder Universit at des Saarlandes Wintersemester 2009/10 06.10.2009 Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse,

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Preparatory course for beginning M.Sc. students: Pragmatics 1: Discourse and Reference

Caroline Sporleder

Universit¨ at des Saarlandes

Wintersemester 2009/10 06.10.2009

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Overview of Pragmatics Lectures

Today’s Lecture (Caroline Sporleder): What is Pragmatics? Dimensions of Discourse Structure (linguistic, intentional, informational, focus) Models of Discourse Referring Expressions Thursday’s Lecture (Magdalena Wolska): Grice’s Maxims of Conversation Speech Acts Presuppositions Dialogue Background Reading Daniel Jurafsky & James H. Martin: Speech and Language Processing, Chapters 18 & 19

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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What is Pragmatics?

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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What is Pragmatics?

Semantics context-independent meaning of utterances lexical semantics (meaning of words): hypernymy-hyponymy (dog vs. animal), homonymy/word-senses (bank vs. bank) . . . meaning of sentences, propositions, truth values . . . (e.g. The dog barks ⇒ ∃x(dog(x) ∧ bark(x))) Pragmatics context-dependent meaning of utterances linguistic context: discourse, dialogue situational context: discourse participants, time, location etc.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Context-dependent Meaning

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Context-dependent Meaning

Deixis interpretation of elements of utterance relative to speaker(s), addressee(s), time, location etc. He has a new job. Stop doing that! The weather was nice yesterday.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Context-dependent Meaning

Deixis interpretation of elements of utterance relative to speaker(s), addressee(s), time, location etc. He has a new job. (Who has a new job?) Stop doing that! The weather was nice yesterday.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Context-dependent Meaning

Deixis interpretation of elements of utterance relative to speaker(s), addressee(s), time, location etc. He has a new job. (Who has a new job?) Stop doing that! (Doing what?) The weather was nice yesterday.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Context-dependent Meaning

Deixis interpretation of elements of utterance relative to speaker(s), addressee(s), time, location etc. He has a new job. (Who has a new job?) Stop doing that! (Doing what?) The weather was nice yesterday. (When was the weather nice?)

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Context-dependent Meaning

Implicatures meaning implied in discourse context A: Do you have the time?

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Context-dependent Meaning

Implicatures meaning implied in discourse context A: Do you have the time? B: *Yes.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Context-dependent Meaning

Implicatures meaning implied in discourse context A: Do you have the time? B: *Yes. Intended Meaning: Do you happen to know the time and if so could you please tell me?

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Context-dependent Meaning

Implicatures meaning implied in discourse context A: Do you know what time it is? B: I think I just heard the milkman.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Context-dependent Meaning

Implicatures meaning implied in discourse context A: Do you know what time it is? B: I think I just heard the milkman. Intended Meaning: I think I just heard the milkman. We both know that the milkman usually comes at a quarter to eight, so it must be a quarter to eight.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Context-dependent Meaning

Implicatures meaning implied in discourse context A: Where is Bill? B: There’s a blue Ford outside Sue’s house.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Context-dependent Meaning

Implicatures meaning implied in discourse context A: Where is Bill? B: There’s a blue Ford outside Sue’s house. Intended Meaning: There’s a blue Ford outside Sue’s house. We both know that Bill drives such a car, so I assume he’s at Sue’s.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Discourse and Discourse Structure

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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What is a Discourse?

Discourse: a coherent sequence of utterances.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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What is a Discourse?

Discourse: a coherent sequence of utterances. How is “coherence” defined?

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Example: Coherence

Reconstruction work will begin next month on a shrine in the Iraqi city of Samarra. There is so much anger in Burma right now, particularly about the brutal treatment of the monks. I visited the worst-hit areas in the north of Ghana and neighbouring Togo, which are more used to battling drought than floods. Coherent?

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Example: Coherence

Greek officials hope the new site will boost the country’s long campaign for the return of the Elgin Marbles. Crowds of bystanders watched the first of the monuments lifted by cranes at the 2,500-year-old Parthenon. Greece has begun moving the ancient sculptures from the Acropolis in Athens to a new home - a museum at the foot of the hilltop citadel. Coherent?

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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What is a Discourse?

a sequence of utterances but: an arbitraty collection of well-formed utterances is not necessarily a “discourse” ⇒ utterance have to cohere (“hang together”)

topics which are related events which are connected (e.g. cause-result, temporal succession) utterances have to fulfil a purpose in discourse

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Dimensions of Discourse Structure

Four interdependent aspects of discourse structure: Linguistic Structure: linguistic manifestation of discourse structure, e.g., cue words, intonation, gesture, referring expressions etc. Informational Structure: how do the different segments of a discourse relate to each other? Intentional Structure: each discourse segment fulfils a purpose (why does a speaker/writer make a given utterance in a given form?) Focus Structure: which entities are salient at a given point in discourse?

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Linguistic Structure

John hid Peter’s car keys. He was drunk.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Linguistic Structure

John hid Peter’s car keys. He was drunk. Mary likes vegetables but she hates tomatoes.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Linguistic Structure

John hid Peter’s car keys. He was drunk. Mary likes vegetables but she hates tomatoes. Dan insulted Tom and then HE hit him.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Linguistic Structure

John hid Peter’s car keys. He was drunk. Mary likes vegetables but she hates tomatoes. Dan insulted Tom and then HE hit him. It was John who hid Peter’s car keys.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Linguistic Structure

Linguistic form

  • ften an indicator of discourse structure:

discourse connectives (but, because): ⇒ reflect how sentences are related to each other (contrast, explanation etc.) referring expressions (she, Mary, a girl, the girl who likes ice-cream . . . ) ⇒ reflect the status of an entity in the discourse (salient, not-salient, new, old, inferred etc.)

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Informational Structure

John hid Peter’s car keys. He was drunk.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Informational Structure

John hid Peter’s car keys. He was drunk. ⇒ The fact that John was drunk explains why he hid Peter’s car keys.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Informational Structure

John hid Peter’s car keys. He was drunk. ⇒ The fact that John was drunk explains why he hid Peter’s car keys. Mary likes chocolate, Maggie likes crisps

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Informational Structure

John hid Peter’s car keys. He was drunk. ⇒ The fact that John was drunk explains why he hid Peter’s car keys. Mary likes chocolate, Maggie likes crisps ⇒ The fact that Maggie likes crisps contrasts with Mary’s liking of chocolate.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Intentional Structure

John hid Peter’s car keys. He was drunk.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Intentional Structure

John hid Peter’s car keys. He was drunk. Possible intention: explain to listener why John hid Peter’s keys (and why Peter was consequently late for work)

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Intentional Structure

John hid Peter’s car keys. He was drunk. Possible intention: explain to listener why John hid Peter’s keys (and why Peter was consequently late for work) Another Possible intention: outline to listener what consequences John’s drunkenness has (and why something must be done about his binge drinking)

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Focus Structure

Susan would like to go on a holiday. But she needs to find somebody to do her work while she’s away. She can’t think of anybody to do that. She considered Mike but he’s a bit unreliable. Yesterday he forgot to turn up for an important meeting with a

  • client. The client was very annoyed and said she would never do

business with Susan’s company again.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Focus Structure

Susan would like to go on a holiday. But she needs to find somebody to do her work while she’s away. She can’t think of anybody to do that. She considered Mike but he’s a bit unreliable. Yesterday he forgot to turn up for an important meeting with a

  • client. The client was very annoyed and said she would never do

business with Susan’s company again.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Focus Structure

Susan would like to go on a holiday. But she needs to find somebody to do her work while she’s away. She can’t think of anybody to do that. She considered Mike but he’s a bit unreliable. Yesterday he forgot to turn up for an important meeting with a

  • client. The client was very annoyed and said she would never do

business with Susan’s company again.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Focus Structure

Susan would like to go on a holiday. But she needs to find somebody to do her work while she’s away. She can’t think of anybody to do that. She considered Mike but he’s a bit unreliable. Yesterday he forgot to turn up for an important meeting with a

  • client. The client was very annoyed and said she would never do

business with Susan’s company again.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Discourse Coherence

A discourse is perceived as coherent if hearer can determine speakers intentions hearer can work out informational structure of utterances (based on linguistic clues or inferred by knowledge of speakers intentions) focus and linguistic structure fit with intentional and informational structure

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Interpreting Discourse: Example

John hid Peter’s car keys. He likes spinach.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Interpreting Discourse: Example

John hid Peter’s car keys. He likes spinach. no linguistic cues for informational structure

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Interpreting Discourse: Example

John hid Peter’s car keys. He likes spinach. no linguistic cues for informational structure possible intentional structure: speaker wants to convey why John hid the keys (i.e., because somebody promised to give him spinach for it and John would do everything for spinach)

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Interpreting Discourse: Example

John hid Peter’s car keys. He likes spinach. no linguistic cues for informational structure possible intentional structure: speaker wants to convey why John hid the keys (i.e., because somebody promised to give him spinach for it and John would do everything for spinach) ⇒ informational structure: explanation

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Interpreting Discourse: Example

John hid Peter’s car keys. He likes spinach. no linguistic cues for informational structure possible intentional structure: speaker wants to convey why John hid the keys (i.e., because somebody promised to give him spinach for it and John would do everything for spinach) ⇒ informational structure: explanation another possible intentional structure: speaker wants to convey what an idiot John is (i.e., not only did he hide Peter’s keys but he also likes spinach which no normal person does)

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Interpreting Discourse: Example

John hid Peter’s car keys. He likes spinach. no linguistic cues for informational structure possible intentional structure: speaker wants to convey why John hid the keys (i.e., because somebody promised to give him spinach for it and John would do everything for spinach) ⇒ informational structure: explanation another possible intentional structure: speaker wants to convey what an idiot John is (i.e., not only did he hide Peter’s keys but he also likes spinach which no normal person does) ⇒ informational structure: continuation

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Modelling Discourse Structure: Rhetorical Structure Theory

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Modelling Discourse Structure

Rhetorical Structure Theory (Mann & Thompson, 1987) theoretical framework for describing discourse structure (informational structure) elementary discourse units (usually clauses) are linked by pre-defined set of 24-30 rhetorical relations ⇒ hierarchical discourse structure (cf. syntax trees) RST website: http://www.sfu.ca/rst/

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Example: Simplified RST

Peter failed the exam because he didn’t study hard enough. the holidays preparing for the re−sit while his friends enjoyed themselves at the beach He had to spend explanation contrast result

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Example: Proper RST

but the tragic and too−common tableaux of hundreds or even thousands

  • f people

snake−lining up for any task with a paycheck illustrates a lack

  • f jobs,

Every rule has exceptions. The people waiting in line carried a message, a refutation, of the claims that the jobless could be employed if only they showed enough ambition. The hotel’s help−wanted announcement for 300 openings was a rare

  • pportunity for

many unemployed when hundreds of people lined up to be among the first applying for jobs at the yet−to−open Mariott Hotel. Famington police had to help control traffic recently not laziness. Antithesis Concession Evidence Circumstance Volitional Result Background Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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So, what is it useful for?

text generation text understanding text summarisation question answering

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Referring Expressions

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Referring Expressions vs. Real World Entities

The Treachery of Images, Ren´ e Magritte, 1928-29

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Referring Expressions vs. Real World Entities

Referent: real world entity to which a linguistic expression refers. Referring Expression: linguis- tic expression (usually a noun phrase) used to refer to a refer- ent.

George W. Bush, George Bush jnr., the former President of the United States, he, that man, Dubya, . . .

Reference: the process of refer- ring to a referent with a refer- ring expression

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Discourse Model

Real World Speaker Listener

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Discourse Model

bla...house Peter.. bla.. car

Real World Speaker Listener

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Discourse Model

bla...house Peter.. bla.. car

Real World Speaker Discourse Model Listener

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Discourse Context and Linguistic Form

He claims record The 22-year-old computer science undergraduate from Bath is claiming a world record for the longest distance ridden on a unicycle in 24 hours. A unicycling student covered exactly 282 miles at Aberystwyth University’s athletics track. Sam Wakeling was aiming to beat the existing record of 235.3 miles.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Discourse Context and Linguistic Form

He claims record The 22-year-old computer science undergraduate from Bath is claiming a world record for the longest distance ridden on a unicycle in 24 hours. A unicycling student covered exactly 282 miles at Aberystwyth University’s athletics track. Sam Wakeling was aiming to beat the existing record of 235.3 miles.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Discourse Context and Linguistic Form

Unicycling student claims record A student is claiming a world record for the longest distance ridden

  • n a unicycle in 24 hours.

Sam Wakeling covered exactly 282 miles at Aberystwyth University’s athletics track. The 22-year-old computer science undergraduate from Bath was aiming to beat the existing record of 235.3 miles.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Discourse Context and Linguistic Form

Unicycling student claims record A student is claiming a world record for the longest distance ridden

  • n a unicycle in 24 hours.

Sam Wakeling covered exactly 282 miles at Aberystwyth University’s athletics track. The 22-year-old computer science undergraduate from Bath was aiming to beat the existing record of 235.3 miles.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Discourse Context and Linguistic Form

Reference and linguistic form the linguistic form reflects the saliency of the referent.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Discourse Context and Linguistic Form

Reference and linguistic form the linguistic form reflects the saliency of the referent. Typically: new discourse referents are introduced by indefinite NPs known/old discourse referents are referred to by definite NPs

  • r pronouns

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Discourse Context and Linguistic Form

Reference and linguistic form the linguistic form reflects the saliency of the referent. Typically: new discourse referents are introduced by indefinite NPs known/old discourse referents are referred to by definite NPs

  • r pronouns

⇒ I saw a cat. The cat/It was black.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Discourse Context and Linguistic Form

Reference and linguistic form the linguistic form reflects the saliency of the referent. Typically: new discourse referents are introduced by indefinite NPs known/old discourse referents are referred to by definite NPs

  • r pronouns

⇒ I saw a cat. The cat/It was black. But: Peter walked towards the house. The door was open. He is going to the US for a year. (A to B when C walks by)

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Classification of Referring Expressions

referent discourse-new discourse-old hearer-new hearer-old

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Classification of Referring Expressions

referent discourse-new discourse-old hearer-new brand-new hearer-old brand-new: new discourse referent, representing an unknown entity (a man)

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Classification of Referring Expressions

referent discourse-new discourse-old hearer-new brand-new — hearer-old brand-new: new discourse referent, representing an unknown entity (a man)

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Classification of Referring Expressions

referent discourse-new discourse-old hearer-new brand-new — hearer-old unused brand-new: new discourse referent, representing an unknown entity (a man) unused: new discourse referent, representing a known entity (Queen Elisabeth)

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Classification of Referring Expressions

referent discourse-new discourse-old hearer-new brand-new — hearer-old unused evoked brand-new: new discourse referent, representing an unknown entity (a man) unused: new discourse referent, representing a known entity (Queen Elisabeth) evoked: referring to an entity which was mentioned before in the discourse (the 22-year old) or is present in the situational context (you)

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Classification of Referring Expressions

referent discourse-new discourse-old hearer-new brand-new — hearer-old unused evoked brand-new: new discourse referent, representing an unknown entity (a man) unused: new discourse referent, representing a known entity (Queen Elisabeth) evoked: referring to an entity which was mentioned before in the discourse (the 22-year old) or is present in the situational context (you) inferrable: new discourse referent which is related to a known

  • entity. (Peter walked towards the house. The door was open.)

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Example

Chris spent yesterday afternoon in a caf´

  • e. The waitress told him to

try the hot chocolate but he ordered a coffee instead. Later he watched a movie with Tom Cruise.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Example

Chris spent yesterday afternoon in a caf´

  • e. The waitress told him to

try the hot chocolate but he ordered a coffee instead. Later he watched a movie with Tom Cruise.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Example

Chris spent yesterday afternoon in a caf´

  • e. The waitress told him to

try the hot chocolate but he ordered a coffee instead. Later he watched a movie with Tom Cruise.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Example

Chris spent yesterday afternoon in a caf´

  • e. The waitress told him to

try the hot chocolate but he ordered a coffee instead. Later he watched a movie with Tom Cruise.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Example

Chris spent yesterday afternoon in a caf´

  • e. The waitress told him to

try the hot chocolate but he ordered a coffee instead. Later he watched a movie with Tom Cruise.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Example

Chris spent yesterday afternoon in a caf´

  • e. The waitress told him to

try the hot chocolate but he ordered a coffee instead. Later he watched a movie with Tom Cruise.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Example

Chris spent yesterday afternoon in a caf´

  • e. The waitress told him to

try the hot chocolate but he ordered a coffee instead. Later he watched a movie with Tom Cruise.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Example

Chris spent yesterday afternoon in a caf´

  • e. The waitress told him to

try the hot chocolate but he ordered a coffee instead. Later he watched a movie with Tom Cruise.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Example

Chris spent yesterday afternoon in a caf´

  • e. The waitress told him to

try the hot chocolate but he ordered a coffee instead. Later he watched a movie with Tom Cruise.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Example

Chris spent yesterday afternoon in a caf´

  • e. The waitress told him to

try the hot chocolate but he ordered a coffee instead. Later he watched a movie with Tom Cruise.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Example

Chris spent yesterday afternoon in a caf´

  • e. The waitress told him to

try the hot chocolate but he ordered a coffee instead. Later he watched a movie with Tom Cruise.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Reference resolution

The postman stroked the dog. Suddenly he bit him. Who bites whom? Tony Blair met President Yeltsin. The old man had just recovered from a heart attack. Who had a heard attack?

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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Reference resolution

The postman stroked the dog. Suddenly he bit him. Who bites whom? Tony Blair met President Yeltsin. The old man had just recovered from a heart attack. Who had a heard attack? Applications: Information extraction Question-Answering Summarisation Machine Translation . . .

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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SLIDE 85

Co-Reference

referring expressions (the Queen, the bus, a cat, he . . . ) refer to real world entities referring expressions, which refer to the same entity are co-referent

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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SLIDE 86

Co-Reference

coreference chain: a set of referring expressions in a text/discourse which are co-referent Anaphor: an expression referring to a preceding expression (antecedent) Muriel saw a cat. It was black.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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SLIDE 87

Co-Reference Chains

Sophia Loren says she will always be grateful to Bono. The actress revealed that the U2 singer helped her calm down when she became scared by a thunderstorm while travelling on a plane.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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SLIDE 88

Co-Reference Chains

Sophia Loren says she will always be grateful to Bono. The actress revealed that the U2 singer helped her calm down when she became scared by a thunderstorm while travelling on a plane. Coreference Chains:

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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SLIDE 89

Co-Reference Chains

Sophia Loren says she will always be grateful to Bono. The actress revealed that the U2 singer helped her calm down when she became scared by a thunderstorm while travelling on a plane. Coreference Chains: {Sophia Loren, she, the actress, her, she}

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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SLIDE 90

Co-Reference Chains

Sophia Loren says she will always be grateful to Bono. The actress revealed that the U2 singer helped her calm down when she became scared by a thunderstorm while travelling on a plane. Coreference Chains: {Sophia Loren, she, the actress, her, she} {Bono, the U2 singer }

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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SLIDE 91

Co-Reference Chains

Sophia Loren says she will always be grateful to Bono. The actress revealed that the U2 singer helped her calm down when she became scared by a thunderstorm while travelling on a plane. Coreference Chains: {Sophia Loren, she, the actress, her, she} {Bono, the U2 singer } {a thunderstorm}

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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SLIDE 92

Co-Reference Chains

Sophia Loren says she will always be grateful to Bono. The actress revealed that the U2 singer helped her calm down when she became scared by a thunderstorm while travelling on a plane. Coreference Chains: {Sophia Loren, she, the actress, her, she} {Bono, the U2 singer } {a thunderstorm} {a plane}

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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SLIDE 93

Coreference Resolution

Difficulties:

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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SLIDE 94

Coreference Resolution

Difficulties: different form ⇒ different referents (Sophia Loren vs. the actress vs. she)

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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SLIDE 95

Coreference Resolution

Difficulties: different form ⇒ different referents (Sophia Loren vs. the actress vs. she) same form ⇒ same referents (the cat, Michael Jackson the singer vs. Michael Jackson the British general)

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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SLIDE 96

Ambiguity and Disambiguating Factors

Jane told Peter he was in danger. ⇒ Agreement (gender, number etc.): he = Peter

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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SLIDE 97

Ambiguity and Disambiguating Factors

Jane told Peter he was in danger. ⇒ Agreement (gender, number etc.): he = Peter Peter said that John is running the business for himself.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

slide-98
SLIDE 98

Ambiguity and Disambiguating Factors

Jane told Peter he was in danger. ⇒ Agreement (gender, number etc.): he = Peter Peter said that John is running the business for himself. ⇒ syntactic constraints: himself = John

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

slide-99
SLIDE 99

Ambiguity and Disambiguating Factors

Jane told Peter he was in danger. ⇒ Agreement (gender, number etc.): he = Peter Peter said that John is running the business for himself. ⇒ syntactic constraints: himself = John The cat did not come down from the tree. It was scared.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

slide-100
SLIDE 100

Ambiguity and Disambiguating Factors

Jane told Peter he was in danger. ⇒ Agreement (gender, number etc.): he = Peter Peter said that John is running the business for himself. ⇒ syntactic constraints: himself = John The cat did not come down from the tree. It was scared. ⇒ selectional preferences: it = the cat

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

slide-101
SLIDE 101

Ambiguity and Disambiguating Factors

Jane told Peter he was in danger. ⇒ Agreement (gender, number etc.): he = Peter Peter said that John is running the business for himself. ⇒ syntactic constraints: himself = John The cat did not come down from the tree. It was scared. ⇒ selectional preferences: it = the cat Jane told Mary she was in danger.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

slide-102
SLIDE 102

Ambiguity and Disambiguating Factors

Jane told Peter he was in danger. ⇒ Agreement (gender, number etc.): he = Peter Peter said that John is running the business for himself. ⇒ syntactic constraints: himself = John The cat did not come down from the tree. It was scared. ⇒ selectional preferences: it = the cat Jane told Mary she was in danger. ⇒ salience (subject position): she = Jane

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

slide-103
SLIDE 103

Ambiguity and Disambiguating Factors

Jane told Peter he was in danger. ⇒ Agreement (gender, number etc.): he = Peter Peter said that John is running the business for himself. ⇒ syntactic constraints: himself = John The cat did not come down from the tree. It was scared. ⇒ selectional preferences: it = the cat Jane told Mary she was in danger. ⇒ salience (subject position): she = Jane Jane told Mary SHE was in danger.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

slide-104
SLIDE 104

Ambiguity and Disambiguating Factors

Jane told Peter he was in danger. ⇒ Agreement (gender, number etc.): he = Peter Peter said that John is running the business for himself. ⇒ syntactic constraints: himself = John The cat did not come down from the tree. It was scared. ⇒ selectional preferences: it = the cat Jane told Mary she was in danger. ⇒ salience (subject position): she = Jane Jane told Mary SHE was in danger. ⇒ prosody: she = Mary

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

slide-105
SLIDE 105

Ambiguity and Disambiguating Factors

Jane told Peter he was in danger. ⇒ Agreement (gender, number etc.): he = Peter Peter said that John is running the business for himself. ⇒ syntactic constraints: himself = John The cat did not come down from the tree. It was scared. ⇒ selectional preferences: it = the cat Jane told Mary she was in danger. ⇒ salience (subject position): she = Jane Jane told Mary SHE was in danger. ⇒ prosody: she = Mary Jane warned Mary she was in danger.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

slide-106
SLIDE 106

Ambiguity and Disambiguating Factors

Jane told Peter he was in danger. ⇒ Agreement (gender, number etc.): he = Peter Peter said that John is running the business for himself. ⇒ syntactic constraints: himself = John The cat did not come down from the tree. It was scared. ⇒ selectional preferences: it = the cat Jane told Mary she was in danger. ⇒ salience (subject position): she = Jane Jane told Mary SHE was in danger. ⇒ prosody: she = Mary Jane warned Mary she was in danger. ⇒ lexical semantics (warned): she = Mary

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

slide-107
SLIDE 107

Ambiguity and Disambiguating Factors

Jane told Peter he was in danger. ⇒ Agreement (gender, number etc.): he = Peter Peter said that John is running the business for himself. ⇒ syntactic constraints: himself = John The cat did not come down from the tree. It was scared. ⇒ selectional preferences: it = the cat Jane told Mary she was in danger. ⇒ salience (subject position): she = Jane Jane told Mary SHE was in danger. ⇒ prosody: she = Mary Jane warned Mary she was in danger. ⇒ lexical semantics (warned): she = Mary Tony Blair met President Yeltsin. The old man had just recovered from a heart attack.

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

slide-108
SLIDE 108

Ambiguity and Disambiguating Factors

Jane told Peter he was in danger. ⇒ Agreement (gender, number etc.): he = Peter Peter said that John is running the business for himself. ⇒ syntactic constraints: himself = John The cat did not come down from the tree. It was scared. ⇒ selectional preferences: it = the cat Jane told Mary she was in danger. ⇒ salience (subject position): she = Jane Jane told Mary SHE was in danger. ⇒ prosody: she = Mary Jane warned Mary she was in danger. ⇒ lexical semantics (warned): she = Mary Tony Blair met President Yeltsin. The old man had just recovered from a heart attack. ⇒ world knowledge: the old man = Yeltsin

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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SLIDE 109

Co-reference Resolution Techniques

Before 1990 . . . co-reference resolution = pronoun resolution rule-based (hand-crafted rules) After 1990 . . . corpus-based (co-occurrence statistics, machine learning) co-reference resolution for non-pronominal expressions (definite NPs, bridging)

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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SLIDE 110

Demos

Lappin & Leass (1994): http://www-appn.comp.nus.edu.sg/%7Erpnlpir/cgi-bin/ JavaRAP/JavaRAPdemo.html Mitkov (2002) http://clg.wlv.ac.uk/demos/MARS/

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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SLIDE 111

What to take home from this lecture . . .

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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SLIDE 112

What to take home from this lecture . . .

1 meaning is often context-dependent Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

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SLIDE 113

What to take home from this lecture . . .

1 meaning is often context-dependent 2 linguistic form is to some extent influenced by context Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

slide-114
SLIDE 114

What to take home from this lecture . . .

1 meaning is often context-dependent 2 linguistic form is to some extent influenced by context 3 discourse is a coherent sequence of utterances Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference

slide-115
SLIDE 115

What to take home from this lecture . . .

1 meaning is often context-dependent 2 linguistic form is to some extent influenced by context 3 discourse is a coherent sequence of utterances 4 discourse has linguistic structure, intentional structure, focus

structure, and informational structure

Caroline Sporleder csporled@coli.uni-sb.de Pragmatics, Discourse, Reference