Skip to main content

Conceptualizing Adjectives

  • Computational Linguistics
  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Book cover KI-97: Advances in Artificial Intelligence (KI 1997)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNAI,volume 1303))

Included in the following conference series:

Abstract

We specify a model for the conceptual interpretation of relative adjectives (like “big”), which covers a crucial aspect of the underlying comprehension process — the comparison to a norm that is associated with a comparison class. Building on an elaborate domain ontology and knowledge about intercorrelations, comparison classes are dynamically created depending on the context in which adjectival utterances occur.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. M. Bierwisch. The semantics of gradation. In M, Bierwisch and E. Lang, editors, Dimensional Adjectives, pages 71–261. Springer, 1989.

    Google Scholar 

  2. N. Bröker, S. Schacht, P. Neuhaus, and U. Hahn. Performanzorientiertes Parsing und Grammatik-Design: das ParseTalk-System. In C. Habel, S. Kanngießer, and G. Rickheit, editors, Perspektiven der Kognitiven Linguistik. Modelle und Methoden, pages 79–125. Westdeutscher Verlag, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  3. C.G. Cech, E.J. Shoben, and M. Love. Multiple congruity effects in judgments of magnitude. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 16(6):1142–1152, 1990.

    Google Scholar 

  4. U. Hahn, K. Markert, and M. Strube. A conceptual reasoning approach to textual ellipsis. In Proc. of the ECAI-96, pages 572–576. J. Wiley, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  5. U. Hahn and M. Romacker. Automatische Erzeugung von medizinischen Wissensbasen durch robustes, partielles Textverstehen: Befundtextanalyse im SYNDIKATE-System. KI — Künstliche Intelligenz, 11(3), 1997.

    Google Scholar 

  6. S. Kamei and K. Muraki. A discrete model of degree concept in natural language. In Proc. of the COLING-91, pages 775–781, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  7. E. Klein, On formalizing the referential/ attributive distinction. Journal of Philosophical Logic, 8:333–337, 1979.

    Google Scholar 

  8. E. Klein. A semantics for positive and comparative adjectives. Linguistics & Philosophy, 4(1):1–45, 1980.

    Google Scholar 

  9. E. Klein. Comparatives. In A. von Stechow and D. Wunderlich, editors, Semantics, pages 674–691. W. de Gruyter, 1991.

    Google Scholar 

  10. A. Kyburg and M. Morreau. Vague utterances and context change. In Proc. of the 2nd Intern. Workshop on Computational Semantics, pages 135–155. Tilburg University, The Netherlands, 1997.

    Google Scholar 

  11. B.C. Malt and E.E. Smith. Correlated properties in natural categories. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 23(2):250–269, 1984.

    Google Scholar 

  12. K. McRae. Correlated properties in artifact and natural kind concepts. In Proc. of the 14th Annual Conf. of the Cognitive Science Society, pages 349–354, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  13. L.J. Rips and W. Turnbull. How big is big? Relative and absolute properties in memory. Cognition, 8:145–174, 1980.

    Google Scholar 

  14. K.M. Sailor and E.J. Shoben. Effects of category membership on comparative judgment. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 19(6):1321–1327, 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  15. D. G. Schwartz. Outline of a naive semantics for reasoning with qualitative linguistic information. In Proc. of the IJCAI-89, pages 1068–1073, 1989.

    Google Scholar 

  16. G. Simmons. A tradeoff between compositionality and complexity in the semantics of dimensional adjectives. In Proc. of the EACL-93, pages 348–357, 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  17. S. Staab and U. Hahn. “Tall”, “good”, “high” — Compared to what? In Proc. of the IJCAI-97, 1997.

    Google Scholar 

  18. W. A. Woods and J. G. Schmolze. The KL-ONE family. Computers & Mathematics with Applications, 23(2-5):133–177, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  19. L. A. Zadeh, PRUF — a meaning representation language for natural languages. International Journal of Man-Machine Studies, 10:395–460, 1978.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Gerhard Brewka Christopher Habel Bernhard Nebel

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1997 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this paper

Cite this paper

Staab, S., Hahn, U. (1997). Conceptualizing Adjectives. In: Brewka, G., Habel, C., Nebel, B. (eds) KI-97: Advances in Artificial Intelligence. KI 1997. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 1303. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3540634932_21

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3540634932_21

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-63493-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-69582-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics