We discuss external and internal graphical and linguistic representational systems. We argue that a cognitive theory of peoples' reasoning performance must account for (a) the logical equivalence of inferences expressed in graphical and linguistic form; and (b) the implementational differences that affect facility of inference. Our theory proposes that graphical representations limit abstraction and thereby aid processibility. We discuss the ideas of specificity and abstraction, and their cognitive relevance. Empirical support comes from tasks involving (i) the manipulation of external graphics; and (ii) no external graphics. For (i), we take Euler's Circles, provide a novel computational reconstruction, show how it captures abstractions, and contrast it with earlier construals, and with Mental Models' representations. We demonstrate equivalence of the graphical Euler system, and the non-graphical Mental Models system. For (ii), we discuss text comprehension, and the mental ...

The present paper deals with the semantics of locative expressions. Our approach is essentially model–theoretic, using basic geometrical properties of the space–time continuum. We shall demonstrate that locatives consist of two layers: the first layer defines a location and the second a type of movement with respect to that location. The elements defining these layers, called localisers and modalisers, tend to form a unit, which is typically either an adposition or a case marker. It will be seen that this layering is not only semantically but in many languages also morphologically manifest. There are numerous languages in which the morphology is sufficiently transparent with respect to the layering. The consequences of this theory are manifold. For example, we shall show that it explains the contrast between English and Finnish concerning directionals, which is discussed in Fong [16]. In addition, we shall be concerned with the question of orientation ∗ This paper has been presented on the Conference on Preferrably (Non-)Lexical Semantics 1996 in Paris and at talks in Potsdam, Uppsala and Tübingen. I thank the audiences for useful suggestions. Furthermore, I have benefitted from talking to Arto Anttila, Christine

The dynamics model, which is based on L. Talmy’s (1988) theory of force dynamics, characterizes causation as a pattern of forces and a position vector. In contrast to counterfactual and probabilistic models, the dynamics model naturally distinguishes between different cause-related concepts and explains the induction of causal relationships from single observations. Support for the model is provided in experiments in which participants categorized 3-D animations of realistically rendered objects with trajectories that were wholly determined by the force vectors entered into a physics simulator. Experiments 1–3 showed that causal judgments are based on several forces, not just one. Experiment 4 demonstrated that people compute the resultant of forces using a qualitative decision rule. Experiments 5 and 6 showed that a dynamics approach extends to the representation of social causation. Implications for the relationship between causation and time are discussed.

This paper describes a multi-level design, i.e., a non-uniform approach to interlingual machine translation (MT), in which distinct representational languages are used for different types of knowledge. We demonstrate that a linguistically-motivated "division of labor" across multiple representation levels has not complicated, but rather has readily facilitated, the identification and construction of systematic relations at the interface between each level. Our approach assumes an interlingua derived from the lexical semantics and predicate decomposition approaches of Jackendoff (1983; 1990) and Levin and Rappaport-Hovav (1995a; 1995b). We describe a model of interpretation and representation of natural language sentences which has been implemented as part of an interlingual MT system called PRINCITRAN.

The interlingua (IL) in machine translation (MT) systems can be defined in terms of two components: (i) "lexical IL forms " within language-specific lexicons where each lexical entry has associated with it one or more lexical representations, and (ii) algorithms for creating and decomposing the instantiated "pivot " representation. Within this framework, we examine five different approaches to the level of representation for the lexical IL forms and then discuss a tool, ILustrate, 2 we are building to develop and evaluate different IL representations coupled with their corresponding translation algorithms. 1

. In this paper we present one aspect of our research on machine translation (MT): capturing the grammatical and computational relation between (i) the interlingua (IL) as defined declaratively in the lexicon and (ii) the IL as defined procedurally by way of algorithms that compose and decompose pivot IL forms. We begin by examining the interlinguas in the lexicons of a variety of current IL-based approaches to MT. This brief survey makes it clear that no consensus exists among MT researchers on the level of representation for defining the IL. In the section that follows, we explore the consequences of this missing formal framework for MT system builders who develop their own lexical-IL entries. The lack of software tools to support rapid IL respecification and testing greatly hampers their ability to modify representations to handle new data and new domains. Our view is that IL-based MT research needs both (a) the formal framework to specify possible IL grammars and (b) the software ...

semantic form, how is the expression's spatial semantics to be allocated lexically, i.e., among entries in the lexicon? In interlingua-based ma- chine translation (MT) research, lexical alloca- tion is the problem of allocating or subdividing a linguistic expression's full interlingual (IL) structure into the substructures that are lexical IL forms, i.e., in the lexicon. Here we present our work developing IL forms and an IL lexicon for translating English spatial expressions into Turkish. We examine several co-occurrence patterns between motion verbs (spatial placement and displacement) and directional adpositions (particles in English, postpositions in Turkish) and the lexical allocation of spatial vectors in these patterns.

This thesis develops a cognitive linguistic approach to language comprehension. The cognitive approach differs from traditional linguistic approaches in that linguistic description is seen as an integral part of the description of cognition, and that the object of description is the nature of conceptual structures, the processes which relate these conceptual structures, and the effect of context upon these processes. As a cognitive description within cognitive science, a computational approach is adopted: language comprehension is described in terms of two modules, a linguistic processing module and a discourse processing module. Within these modules, conceptual structures and processes are given a uniform characterization: structures are characterized as partial objects which are extended by processes into (potentially) less partial objects. In the linguistic processing module, linguistic expressions are characterized as signs which combine as head and modifier. The conceptual structu...

This paper looks at integrating dependency and constituency into a common framework, using the TAG formalism and a different perspective on the metagrammar of (Dras, 1999) in which the meta level models dependencies and the object level model constituency. This framework gives consistent dependency analyses of raising verbs interacting with bridge verbs, solving a problem in Synchronous TAG. And in a completely different area, the framework gives appropriate analyses of subject-auxiliary inversion; moreover, in doing this, a neat representation of case assignment falls out of the analyses. This and other evidence suggests the integration of dependency and constituency is a useful avenue to explore. 1

Syntax is concerned with the relative distribution of instances of the basic syntagmatic unit of the content plane, which I take, begging a few questions for the moment, to be the word (see, however, Anderson 1980a, 1987a). More exactly, it is concerned with the relative distribution of word classes: the set of words is open-ended, but