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A type theory is presented that combines (intuitionistic) linear types with type dependency, thus properly generalising both intuitionistic dependent type theory and full linear logic. A syntax and complete categorical semantics are developed, the latter in terms of (strict) indexed symmetric monoidal categories with comprehension. Various optional type formers are treated in a modular way. In particular, we will see that the historically much-debated multiplicative quantifiers and identity types arise naturally from categorical considerations. These new multiplicative connectives are further characterised by several identities relating them to the usual connectives from dependent type theory and linear logic. Finally, one important class of models, given by families with values in some symmetric monoidal category, is investigated in detail.

A type theory is presented that combines (intuitionistic) linear types with type dependency, thus properly generalising both intuitionistic dependent type theory and full linear logic. A syntax and complete categorical semantics are developed, the latter in terms of (strict) indexed symmetric monoidal categories with comprehension. Various optional type formers are treated in a modular way. In particular, we will see that the historically much-debated multiplicative quantifiers and identity types arise naturally from categorical considerations. These new multiplicative connectives are further characterised by several identities relating them to the usual connectives from dependent type theory and linear logic. Finally, one important class of models, given by families with values in some symmetric monoidal category, is investigated in detail.

A type theory is presented that combines (intuitionistic) linear types with type dependency, thus properly generalising both intuitionistic dependent type theory and full linear logic. A syntax and complete categorical semantics are developed, the latter in terms of (strict) indexed symmetric monoidal categories with comprehension. Various optional type formers are treated in a modular way. In particular, we will see that the historically much-debated multiplicative quantifiers and identity types arise naturally from categorical considerations. These new multiplicative connectives are further characterised by several identities relating them to the usual connectives from dependent type theory and linear logic. Finally, one important class of models, given by families with values in some symmetric monoidal category, is investigated in detail.

A type theory is presented that combines (intuitionistic) linear types with type dependency, thus properly generalising both intuitionistic dependent type theory and full linear logic. A syntax and complete categorical semantics are developed, the latter in terms of (strict) indexed symmetric monoidal categories with comprehension. Various optional type formers are treated in a modular way. In particular, we will see that the historically much-debated multiplicative quantifiers and identity types arise naturally from categorical considerations. These new multiplicative connectives are further characterised by several identities relating them to the usual connectives from dependent type theory and linear logic. Finally, one important class of models, given by families with values in some symmetric monoidal category, is investigated in detail.

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Semantic feedback is an important source of information that a parser could use to deal with local ambiguities in syntax. However, it is difficult to devise a systematic communication mechanism for interactive syntax and semantics. In this article, I propose a variant of left-corner parsing to define the points at which syntax and semantics should interact, an account of grammatical relations and thematic roles to define the content of the communication, and a conflict resolution strategy based on independent preferences from syntax and semantics. The resulting interactive model has been implemented in a program called COMPERE and shown to account for a wide variety of psycholinguistic data on structural and lexical ambiguities.

The contribution of this paper is the development of the syntax and semantics of multi-sorted nominal abstract binding trees (abts), an extension of second order universal algebra to support symbol-indexed families of operators. Nominal abts are essential for correctly treating the syntax of languages with generative phenomena, including exceptions and mutable state. Additionally we have developed the categorical semantics for abstract binding trees formally in Constructive Type Theory using the Agda proof assistant. Multi-sorted nominal abts also form the syntactic basis for the upcoming version of the JonPRL proof assistant, an implementation of an extensional constructive type theory in the Nuprl tradition.

The contribution of this paper is the development of the syntax and semantics of multi-sorted nominal abstract binding trees (abts), an extension of second order universal algebra to support symbol-indexed families of operators. Nominal abts are essential for correctly treating the syntax of languages with generative phenomena, including exceptions and mutable state. Additionally we have developed the categorical semantics for abstract binding trees formally in Constructive Type Theory using the Agda proof assistant. Multi-sorted nominal abts also form the syntactic basis for the upcoming version of the JonPRL proof assistant, an implementation of an extensional constructive type theory in the Nuprl tradition.

The contribution of this paper is the development of the syntax and semantics of multi-sorted nominal abstract binding trees (abts), an extension of second order universal algebra to support symbol-indexed families of operators. Nominal abts are essential for correctly treating the syntax of languages with generative phenomena, including exceptions and mutable state. Additionally we have developed the categorical semantics for abstract binding trees formally in Constructive Type Theory using the Agda proof assistant. Multi-sorted nominal abts also form the syntactic basis for the upcoming version of the JonPRL proof assistant, an implementation of an extensional constructive type theory in the Nuprl tradition.

The contribution of this paper is the development of the syntax and semantics of multi-sorted nominal abstract binding trees (abts), an extension of second order universal algebra to support symbol-indexed families of operators. Nominal abts are essential for correctly treating the syntax of languages with generative phenomena, including exceptions and mutable state. Additionally we have developed the categorical semantics for abstract binding trees formally in Constructive Type Theory using the Agda proof assistant. Multi-sorted nominal abts also form the syntactic basis for the upcoming version of the JonPRL proof assistant, an implementation of an extensional constructive type theory in the Nuprl tradition.

The contribution of this paper is the development of the syntax and semantics of multi-sorted nominal abstract binding trees (abts), an extension of second order universal algebra to support symbol-indexed families of operators. Nominal abts are essential for correctly treating the syntax of languages with generative phenomena, including exceptions and mutable state. Additionally we have developed the categorical semantics for abstract binding trees formally in Constructive Type Theory using the Agda proof assistant. Multi-sorted nominal abts also form the syntactic basis for the upcoming version of the JonPRL proof assistant, an implementation of an extensional constructive type theory in the Nuprl tradition.

The contribution of this paper is the development of the syntax and semantics of multi-sorted nominal abstract binding trees (abts), an extension of second order universal algebra to support symbol-indexed families of operators. Nominal abts are essential for correctly treating the syntax of languages with generative phenomena, including exceptions and mutable state. Additionally we have developed the categorical semantics for abstract binding trees formally in Constructive Type Theory using the Agda proof assistant. Multi-sorted nominal abts also form the syntactic basis for the upcoming version of the JonPRL proof assistant, an implementation of an extensional constructive type theory in the Nuprl tradition.

The contribution of this paper is the development of the syntax and semantics of multi-sorted nominal abstract binding trees (abts), an extension of second order universal algebra to support symbol-indexed families of operators. Nominal abts are essential for correctly treating the syntax of languages with generative phenomena, including exceptions and mutable state. Additionally we have developed the categorical semantics for abstract binding trees formally in Constructive Type Theory using the Agda proof assistant. Multi-sorted nominal abts also form the syntactic basis for the upcoming version of the JonPRL proof assistant, an implementation of an extensional constructive type theory in the Nuprl tradition.

Semantic data fuels many different applications, but is still lacking proper integration into programming languages. Untyped access is error-prone while mapping approaches cannot fully capture the conceptualization of semantic data. In this paper, we present $\lambda_{DL}$,a $\lambda$-calculus with a modified type system to provide type-safe integration of semantic data. This is achieved by the integration of description logics into the $\lambda$-calculus for typing and data access. It is centered around several key design principles. Among these are (1) the usage of semantic conceptualizations as types, (2) subtype inference for these types, and (3) type-checked query access to the data by both ensuring the satisfiability of queries as well as typing query results precisely in $\lambda_{DL}$. The paper motivates the use of a modified type system for semantic data and it provides the theoretic foundation for the integration of description logics as well as the core formal specifications of $\lambda_{DL}$ including a proof of type safety.

The quality of computer generated speech keeps getting better but people are still able to identify whether speech is produced by a human or not (Bruder & Larrouy-Maestri, 2023). The lack of humanness in synthetic speech might be linked to the naturalness or quality of its prosody. In order to understand this issue we focus on the role of syntactic and semantic aspects of language (which are known to be intrinsically linked to prosody (Cutler et al., 1997)) on the perception of humanness in speech. To do so, we propose an experiment testing the effects of voice type (natural versus synthetic) and of syntactic and semantic information on humanness perception. We created German sentences that were then manipulated to obtain three more conditions conveying syntactic but no semantic information (jabberwocky sentences), no syntactic but semantic information (wordlists), and no syntactic or semantic information (jabberwocky wordlists). This material was generated by text-to-speech tools (Microsoft, Elevenlabs, Murf, and Listnr) and recorded by human speakers. We will ask participants to rate these synthetic and natural spoken sentences on how human the voice sounds to them. Whether syntactic and semantic information interacts with voice category will inform us about the potential differences in processing synthetic and natural speech.

The primary goal of this paper is to present a unified way to transform the syntax of a logic system into certain initial algebraic structure so that it can be studied algebraically. The algebraic structures which one may choose for this purpose are various clones over a full subcategory of a category. We show that the syntax of equational logic, lambda calculus and first order logic can be represented as clones or right algebras of clones over the set of positive integers. The semantics is then represented by structures derived from left algebras of these clones.

We provide the syntax and semantics of the LISA (for "Litmus Instruction Set Architecture") language. The parallel assembly language LISA is implemented in the herd7 tool (http://virginia.cs.ucl.ac.uk/herd/) for simulating weak consistency models.

We provide the syntax and semantics of the LISA (for "Litmus Instruction Set Architecture") language. The parallel assembly language LISA is implemented in the herd7 tool (http://virginia.cs.ucl.ac.uk/herd/) for simulating weak consistency models.

We provide the syntax and semantics of the LISA (for "Litmus Instruction Set Architecture") language. The parallel assembly language LISA is implemented in the herd7 tool (http://virginia.cs.ucl.ac.uk/herd/) for simulating weak consistency models.

We provide the syntax and semantics of the LISA (for "Litmus Instruction Set Architecture") language. The parallel assembly language LISA is implemented in the herd7 tool (http://virginia.cs.ucl.ac.uk/herd/) for simulating weak consistency models.

The Semantics of Questions and the Questions of Semantics: Case Studies in the Interrelations of Logic, Semantics, and Syntax. by Jaakko Hintikka Review by: David Harrah

We investigate the possibility of modelling the syntax and semantics of natural language by constraints, or rules, imposed by the multi-dimensional type theory Nabla. The only multiplicity we explicitly consider is two, namely one dimension for the syntax and one dimension for the semantics, but the general perspective is important. For example, issues of pragmatics could be handled as additional dimensions. One of the main problems addressed is the rather complicated repertoire of operations that exists besides the notion of categories in traditional Montague grammar. For the syntax we use a categorial grammar along the lines of Lambek. For the semantics we use so-called lexical and logical combinators inspired by work in natural logic. Nabla provides a concise interpretation and a sequent calculus as the basis for implementations.

The standard view of the form-meaning interfaces, as embraced by the great majority of contemporary grammatical frameworks, consists in the assumption that meaning can be associated with grammatical form in a one-to-one correspondence. Under this view, composition is quite straightforward, involving concatenation of form, paired with functional application in meaning. In this book, we discuss linguistic phenomena across several grammatical sub-modules (morphology, syntax, semantics) that apparently pose a problem to the standard view, mapping out the potential for deviation from the ideal of one-to-one correspondences, and develop formal accounts of the range of phenomena. We argue that a constraint-based perspective is particularly apt to accommodate deviations from one-to-many correspondences, as it allows us to impose constraints on full structures (such as a complete word or the interpretation of a full sentence) instead of deriving such structures step by step.

The standard view of the form-meaning interfaces, as embraced by the great majority of contemporary grammatical frameworks, consists in the assumption that meaning can be associated with grammatical form in a one-to-one correspondence. Under this view, composition is quite straightforward, involving concatenation of form, paired with functional application in meaning. In this book, we discuss linguistic phenomena across several grammatical sub-modules (morphology, syntax, semantics) that apparently pose a problem to the standard view, mapping out the potential for deviation from the ideal of one-to-one correspondences, and develop formal accounts of the range of phenomena. We argue that a constraint-based perspective is particularly apt to accommodate deviations from one-to-many correspondences, as it allows us to impose constraints on full structures (such as a complete word or the interpretation of a full sentence) instead of deriving such structures step by step.

In this paper, an attempt is made to explicate the notion "equivalence" in contrastive analysis. It has been suggested that a learner formulates successive hypotheses about the nature of the target language at least partially on the basis of his knowledge of the native language. A deep contrastive study of the two language systems will reveal the areas which need to be focused on in a teaching situation in order to discourage the learner from setting up "false" equivalences between the two systems, or rather, to lead him to set up valid equivalences. The paper advocates a view of contrastive analysis which is based on meaning rather than structure, and also takes into account areas such as pragmatics and conversational implicature in establishing equivalences. The method of such an analysis is illustrated by a detailed discussion of some of the properties of the causative constructions in English and selected South Asian languages. (Author)

In this paper, an attempt is made to explicate the notion "equivalence" in contrastive analysis. It has been suggested that a learner formulates successive hypotheses about the nature of the target language at least partially on the basis of his knowledge of the native language. A deep contrastive study of the two language systems will reveal the areas which need to be focused on in a teaching situation in order to discourage the learner from setting up "false" equivalences between the two systems, or rather, to lead him to set up valid equivalences. The paper advocates a view of contrastive analysis which is based on meaning rather than structure, and also takes into account areas such as pragmatics and conversational implicature in establishing equivalences. The method of such an analysis is illustrated by a detailed discussion of some of the properties of the causative constructions in English and selected South Asian languages. (Author)

This paper is concerned with the role of meaning and understanding in the acquisition of computational skill in subtraction. Evidence on the syntactic nature of subtraction errors is reviewed, with common "bugs" described. Then, data collected from interviews with four children are summarized in terms of their semantics of concrete representations of the base system, procedures for adding and subtracting with concrete representations, semantics of the writing code, procedures for written subtraction and addition, and mapping. Finally, linking syntax and semantics and why mapping works are discussed. (MNS)

This paper is concerned with the role of meaning and understanding in the acquisition of computational skill in subtraction. Evidence on the syntactic nature of subtraction errors is reviewed, with common "bugs" described. Then, data collected from interviews with four children are summarized in terms of their semantics of concrete representations of the base system, procedures for adding and subtracting with concrete representations, semantics of the writing code, procedures for written subtraction and addition, and mapping. Finally, linking syntax and semantics and why mapping works are discussed. (MNS)

Talk by Ben Hayden of the Baylor College of Medicine.  Given to the Redwood Center for Theoretical Neuroscience at UC Berkeley. Abstract: The ability to record responses of single neurons in awake humans allows us to understand the neurocomputational foundations of language. We recorded responses of neural populations in hippocampus and anterior cingulate cortex during speech listening and during interactive conversations. We find that single neurons in both regions use a dense code with mixed selectivity to encode both speaker identity and word meanings, consistent with the principles of vectorial coding. Meanwhile we find that morphosyntactic processes correspond to specific and consistent vectorial rotations. Bio: Ben Hayden received his Ph.D. In Molecular and Cell Biology at UC Berkeley in 2005 studying the neural basis of working memory and attention, and did a post-doctoral fellowship at Duke University until 2011. In 2023, he moved to the Department of Neurosurgery at Baylor College of Medicine, where he is a Full Professor and McNair Scholar.  His work has been supported by the Sloan Foundation, the Klingenstein-Simons Foundation, the Brain and Behavior Research foundation, Templeton Foundation, NSF, NIMH, and NIDA.

Progress includes continuing to port Pundit to the Trident domain of maintenance reports while at the same time extending coverage in the RAINFORMS and CASREPS domains. Parallel development in the three domains has had a synergistic effect on the overall system, as features implemented for one domain become available for the others. Keywords: Natural language comprehension, Computer programming.

The PUNDIT User's Guide is intended to provide a concise and general introduction to the facilities of the PUNDIT text-processing system. The intended audience is computational linguists familiar with Quintus Prolog. While this document is not a reference manual, and does not in itself contain sufficient information for you to either extend the system or port it to a new domain, we have tried to cover the operational basics: how to run PUNDIT (section 2) and how to interpret PUNDIT's output (Section 3). In addition, Section 4 documents the two main procedures for accessing the system (parse and pundit), as well as a number of other procedures which we make frequent use of as developers. Appendix A and Appendix B will help you set the system up. Appendix D identifies the core and domain files, and Appendix E lists papers, presentations, and technical documentation available for PUNDIT. The User's Guide is designed to accompany a subset of the text-understanding software which has been developed at the Paoli Research Center, as it exists on the date of publication: the core components of PUNDIT, together with the domain-specific components developed to process Navy tactical messages (RAINFORMs). This domain will be referred to henceforth as the MUCK domain (an acronym for the message understanding conference which occasioned the development of the software).

The PUNDIT User's Guide is intended to provide a concise and general introduction to the facilities of the PUNDIT text-processing system. The intended audience is computational linguists familiar with Quintus Prolog. While this document is not a reference manual, and does not in itself contain sufficient information for you to either extend the system or port it to a new domain, we have tried to cover the operational basics: how to run PUNDIT (section 2) and how to interpret PUNDIT's output (Section 3). In addition, Section 4 documents the two main procedures for accessing the system (parse and pundit), as well as a number of other procedures which we make frequent use of as developers. Appendix A and Appendix B will help you set the system up. Appendix D identifies the core and domain files, and Appendix E lists papers, presentations, and technical documentation available for PUNDIT. The User's Guide is designed to accompany a subset of the text-understanding software which has been developed at the Paoli Research Center, as it exists on the date of publication: the core components of PUNDIT, together with the domain-specific components developed to process Navy tactical messages (RAINFORMs). This domain will be referred to henceforth as the MUCK domain (an acronym for the message understanding conference which occasioned the development of the software).

This report is a detailed empirical examination of Suppes' ideas about the syntax and semantics of natural language, and an attempt at supporting the proposal that model-theoretic semantics of the type first proposed by Tarski is a useful tool for understanding the semantics of natural language. Child speech was selected as the best place to find data on natural language because it presents a view of the real problems represented by natural language, and because it allows the study of the process of language development. The main body of data consists of a series of recordings between a 32-month-old girl, Erica, and several adults. The ERIC corpus is found to be syntactically simpler and semantically more straightforward than adult speech. It is divided into utterances; its vocabulary is compared to ADULT vocabulary; a word frequency count is made; and its words are classified gramatically. A discussion follows of the standard concepts and results of the theory of generative grammars. A grammar for ERICA is devised, with special attention to lexical ambiguity. Mathematical syntax and semantics are discussed, followed by a description of ERICA semantics, with special reference to grammatical and semantic ambiguity. Conclusions include: (1) a reasonable probabilistic grammar for ERICA can be constructed; (2) the grammar GE1 is the best model for lexical disambiguation; (3) the grammar functions reasonably well semantically; (4) the notion of probability can play a key role in the construction of a semantics; and (5) simple set-theoretical functions are often successful in describing the ERICA semantics. (Author/AM)

This report is a detailed empirical examination of Suppes' ideas about the syntax and semantics of natural language, and an attempt at supporting the proposal that model-theoretic semantics of the type first proposed by Tarski is a useful tool for understanding the semantics of natural language. Child speech was selected as the best place to find data on natural language because it presents a view of the real problems represented by natural language, and because it allows the study of the process of language development. The main body of data consists of a series of recordings between a 32-month-old girl, Erica, and several adults. The ERIC corpus is found to be syntactically simpler and semantically more straightforward than adult speech. It is divided into utterances; its vocabulary is compared to ADULT vocabulary; a word frequency count is made; and its words are classified gramatically. A discussion follows of the standard concepts and results of the theory of generative grammars. A grammar for ERICA is devised, with special attention to lexical ambiguity. Mathematical syntax and semantics are discussed, followed by a description of ERICA semantics, with special reference to grammatical and semantic ambiguity. Conclusions include: (1) a reasonable probabilistic grammar for ERICA can be constructed; (2) the grammar GE1 is the best model for lexical disambiguation; (3) the grammar functions reasonably well semantically; (4) the notion of probability can play a key role in the construction of a semantics; and (5) simple set-theoretical functions are often successful in describing the ERICA semantics. (Author/AM)

This report is a detailed empirical examination of Suppes' ideas about the syntax and semantics of natural language, and an attempt at supporting the proposal that model-theoretic semantics of the type first proposed by Tarski is a useful tool for understanding the semantics of natural language. Child speech was selected as the best place to find data on natural language because it presents a view of the real problems represented by natural language, and because it allows the study of the process of language development. The main body of data consists of a series of recordings between a 32-month-old girl, Erica, and several adults. The ERIC corpus is found to be syntactically simpler and semantically more straightforward than adult speech. It is divided into utterances; its vocabulary is compared to ADULT vocabulary; a word frequency count is made; and its words are classified gramatically. A discussion follows of the standard concepts and results of the theory of generative grammars. A grammar for ERICA is devised, with special attention to lexical ambiguity. Mathematical syntax and semantics are discussed, followed by a description of ERICA semantics, with special reference to grammatical and semantic ambiguity. Conclusions include: (1) a reasonable probabilistic grammar for ERICA can be constructed; (2) the grammar GE1 is the best model for lexical disambiguation; (3) the grammar functions reasonably well semantically; (4) the notion of probability can play a key role in the construction of a semantics; and (5) simple set-theoretical functions are often successful in describing the ERICA semantics. (Author/AM)

This report is a detailed empirical examination of Suppes' ideas about the syntax and semantics of natural language, and an attempt at supporting the proposal that model-theoretic semantics of the type first proposed by Tarski is a useful tool for understanding the semantics of natural language. Child speech was selected as the best place to find data on natural language because it presents a view of the real problems represented by natural language, and because it allows the study of the process of language development. The main body of data consists of a series of recordings between a 32-month-old girl, Erica, and several adults. The ERIC corpus is found to be syntactically simpler and semantically more straightforward than adult speech. It is divided into utterances; its vocabulary is compared to ADULT vocabulary; a word frequency count is made; and its words are classified gramatically. A discussion follows of the standard concepts and results of the theory of generative grammars. A grammar for ERICA is devised, with special attention to lexical ambiguity. Mathematical syntax and semantics are discussed, followed by a description of ERICA semantics, with special reference to grammatical and semantic ambiguity. Conclusions include: (1) a reasonable probabilistic grammar for ERICA can be constructed; (2) the grammar GE1 is the best model for lexical disambiguation; (3) the grammar functions reasonably well semantically; (4) the notion of probability can play a key role in the construction of a semantics; and (5) simple set-theoretical functions are often successful in describing the ERICA semantics. (Author/AM)

Instruments constitute a classic member of the thematic role inventory, yet they are usually analyzed only peripherally, taking a back seat to the more studied members such as Agent and Patient. This dissertation investigates the semantic reality behind the label instrument from the functionalist perspective of Role & Reference Grammar. Starting from a theoretical investigation of what instrumentality truly means when contrasted with related concepts like comitatives, this book explores the morphosyntactic realization of instruments across a wide range of typologically diverse languages. Apart from the standard occurrences of instruments that come to mind from languages such as Latin, German or English, this book delves into several less common constructions that feature the instrument relation. Such constructions include, amongst others, passives with instruments and particularly the Instrument-Subject Alternation, a construction where the instrument seemingly appears as the subject of the sentence. This construction displays variation along three dimensions: 1) The instrument can vary from a very simple tool to a complicated machine, 2) the predicate can vary substantially and 3) languages differ widely with respect to the construction’s acceptability. This makes for a complex playing field where the animacy of the instrument but also the aktionsart class of the predicate play a major role. The last section of this book deals with linking the semantics of instruments and related concepts to their morphosyntactic realizations, including the various encoding strategies that are available in any given language. This book also features a concise introduction to Role & Reference Grammar. Dissertations in Language and Cognition: This series explores issues of mental representation, linguistic structure and representation, and their interplay. The research presented in this series is grounded in the idea explored in the Collaborative Research Center ‘The structure of representations in language, cognition and science’ (SFB 991) that there is a universal format for the representation of linguistic and cognitive concepts.

Instruments constitute a classic member of the thematic role inventory, yet they are usually analyzed only peripherally, taking a back seat to the more studied members such as Agent and Patient. This dissertation investigates the semantic reality behind the label instrument from the functionalist perspective of Role & Reference Grammar. Starting from a theoretical investigation of what instrumentality truly means when contrasted with related concepts like comitatives, this book explores the morphosyntactic realization of instruments across a wide range of typologically diverse languages. Apart from the standard occurrences of instruments that come to mind from languages such as Latin, German or English, this book delves into several less common constructions that feature the instrument relation. Such constructions include, amongst others, passives with instruments and particularly the Instrument-Subject Alternation, a construction where the instrument seemingly appears as the subject of the sentence. This construction displays variation along three dimensions: 1) The instrument can vary from a very simple tool to a complicated machine, 2) the predicate can vary substantially and 3) languages differ widely with respect to the construction’s acceptability. This makes for a complex playing field where the animacy of the instrument but also the aktionsart class of the predicate play a major role. The last section of this book deals with linking the semantics of instruments and related concepts to their morphosyntactic realizations, including the various encoding strategies that are available in any given language. This book also features a concise introduction to Role & Reference Grammar. Dissertations in Language and Cognition: This series explores issues of mental representation, linguistic structure and representation, and their interplay. The research presented in this series is grounded in the idea explored in the Collaborative Research Center ‘The structure of representations in language, cognition and science’ (SFB 991) that there is a universal format for the representation of linguistic and cognitive concepts.

Instruments constitute a classic member of the thematic role inventory, yet they are usually analyzed only peripherally, taking a back seat to the more studied members such as Agent and Patient. This dissertation investigates the semantic reality behind the label instrument from the functionalist perspective of Role & Reference Grammar. Starting from a theoretical investigation of what instrumentality truly means when contrasted with related concepts like comitatives, this book explores the morphosyntactic realization of instruments across a wide range of typologically diverse languages. Apart from the standard occurrences of instruments that come to mind from languages such as Latin, German or English, this book delves into several less common constructions that feature the instrument relation. Such constructions include, amongst others, passives with instruments and particularly the Instrument-Subject Alternation, a construction where the instrument seemingly appears as the subject of the sentence. This construction displays variation along three dimensions: 1) The instrument can vary from a very simple tool to a complicated machine, 2) the predicate can vary substantially and 3) languages differ widely with respect to the construction’s acceptability. This makes for a complex playing field where the animacy of the instrument but also the aktionsart class of the predicate play a major role. The last section of this book deals with linking the semantics of instruments and related concepts to their morphosyntactic realizations, including the various encoding strategies that are available in any given language. This book also features a concise introduction to Role & Reference Grammar. Dissertations in Language and Cognition: This series explores issues of mental representation, linguistic structure and representation, and their interplay. The research presented in this series is grounded in the idea explored in the Collaborative Research Center ‘The structure of representations in language, cognition and science’ (SFB 991) that there is a universal format for the representation of linguistic and cognitive concepts.

This document and overview of the SDC/NYU natural language system. Contents: grammar; noun phrase resolution; clause semantics', facilities.

This document and overview of the SDC/NYU natural language system. Contents: grammar; noun phrase resolution; clause semantics', facilities.

This document and overview of the SDC/NYU natural language system. Contents: grammar; noun phrase resolution; clause semantics', facilities.

${\rm \small CTT}_{\rm qe}$ is a version of Church's type theory that includes quotation and evaluation operators that are similar to quote and eval in the Lisp programming language. With quotation and evaluation it is possible to reason in ${\rm \small CTT}_{\rm qe}$ about the interplay of the syntax and semantics of expressions and, as a result, to formalize syntax-based mathematical algorithms. We present the syntax and semantics of ${\rm \small CTT}_{\rm qe}$ and give several examples that illustrate the usefulness of having quotation and evaluation in ${\rm \small CTT}_{\rm qe}$. We do not give a proof system for ${\rm \small CTT}_{\rm qe}$, but we do sketch what a proof system could look like.

In this paper, we present a propositional logic (called mixed logic) containing disjoint copies of minimal, intuitionistic and classical logics. We prove a completeness theorem for this logic with respect to a Kripke semantics. We establish some relations between mixed logic and minimal, intuitionistic and classical logics. We present at the end a sequent calculus version for this logic.

In this paper, we present a propositional logic (called mixed logic) containing disjoint copies of minimal, intuitionistic and classical logics. We prove a completeness theorem for this logic with respect to a Kripke semantics. We establish some relations between mixed logic and minimal, intuitionistic and classical logics. We present at the end a sequent calculus version for this logic.

African languages cover more than one fourth of the world’s languages, but still have been underrepresented in linguistic theories. The volume intends to fill this gap and addresses aspects of the syntax-semantics-pragmatics interface of African languages from a Role & Reference Grammar perspective. Accordingly, distinctive linguistic phenomena of iziZulu, Gĩkũyũ, Igbo, Babungo, Emai and other African languages are discussed in the contributions.

African languages cover more than one fourth of the world’s languages, but still have been underrepresented in linguistic theories. The volume intends to fill this gap and addresses aspects of the syntax-semantics-pragmatics interface of African languages from a Role & Reference Grammar perspective. Accordingly, distinctive linguistic phenomena of iziZulu, Gĩkũyũ, Igbo, Babungo, Emai and other African languages are discussed in the contributions.

African languages cover more than one fourth of the world’s languages, but still have been underrepresented in linguistic theories. The volume intends to fill this gap and addresses aspects of the syntax-semantics-pragmatics interface of African languages from a Role & Reference Grammar perspective. Accordingly, distinctive linguistic phenomena of iziZulu, Gĩkũyũ, Igbo, Babungo, Emai and other African languages are discussed in the contributions.

African languages cover more than one fourth of the world’s languages, but still have been underrepresented in linguistic theories. The volume intends to fill this gap and addresses aspects of the syntax-semantics-pragmatics interface of African languages from a Role & Reference Grammar perspective. Accordingly, distinctive linguistic phenomena of iziZulu, Gĩkũyũ, Igbo, Babungo, Emai and other African languages are discussed in the contributions.