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Conference on Mathematics of Language

Conference on Mathematics of Language

MOL 2009, MOL 2007: The Mathematics of Language pp 13–28Cite as

Deforesting Logical Form

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Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNAI,volume 6149))

Abstract

This paper argues against Logical Form (LF) as an intermediate level of representation in language processing. We apply a program transformation technique called deforestation to demonstrate the inessentiality of LF in a parsing system that builds semantic interpretations. We consider two phenomena, Quantifier Raising in English and Wh-movement in Chinese, which have played key roles in the broader argument for LF. Deforestation derives LF-free versions of these parsing systems. This casts doubt on LF’s relevance for processing models, contrary to suggestions in the literature.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Linguistics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853-4701, USA

    Zhong Chen & John T. Hale

Authors
  1. Zhong Chen
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  2. John T. Hale
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Linguistics, University of Tuebingen, Wilhelmstrasse 19, 72074, Tuebingen, Germany

    Christian Ebert  & Gerhard Jäger  & 

  2. Faculty of Linguistics and Literary Studies, University of Bielefeld, Postfach 100131, 33501, Bielefeld, Germany

    Jens Michaelis

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Chen, Z., Hale, J.T. (2010). Deforesting Logical Form. In: Ebert, C., Jäger, G., Michaelis, J. (eds) The Mathematics of Language. MOL MOL 2009 2007. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 6149. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-14322-9_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-14322-9_2

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-14321-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-14322-9

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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