21.1334, Diss: Comp Ling/Pragmatics: Pross: 'Grounded Discourse...'

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LINGUIST List: Vol-21-1334. Thu Mar 18 2010. ISSN: 1068 - 4875.

Subject: 21.1334, Diss: Comp Ling/Pragmatics: Pross: 'Grounded Discourse...'

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1)
Date: 17-Mar-2010
From: Tillmann Pross < tillmann.pross at philo.uni-stuttgart.de >
Subject: Grounded Discourse Representation Theory: Towards a semantics-pragmatics interface for human-machine collaboration
 

	
-------------------------Message 1 ---------------------------------- 
Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:28:29
From: Tillmann Pross [tillmann.pross at philo.uni-stuttgart.de]
Subject: Grounded Discourse Representation Theory: Towards a semantics-pragmatics interface for human-machine collaboration

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Institution: Universität Stuttgart 
Program: Institute for Natural Language Processing 
Dissertation Status: Completed 
Degree Date: 2009 

Author: Tillmann Pross

Dissertation Title: Grounded Discourse Representation Theory: Towards a
semantics-pragmatics interface for human-machine
collaboration 

Dissertation URL:  http://elib.uni-stuttgart.de/opus/volltexte/2010/5096/

Linguistic Field(s): Computational Linguistics
                     Pragmatics


Dissertation Director(s):
Alois Knoll
Hans Kamp

Dissertation Abstract:

This study introduces Grounded Discourse Representation Theory 
(GDRT), a formalism for the semantics-pragmatics interface of a robot 
in the framework of goal-oriented human-machine collaboration. The 
theory of GDRT as developed in this thesis aims at a uniform 
processing of speech, thought and action, of object recognition, motor 
control and natural language meaning, of semantics and pragmatics. 

Developing a formalism that enables a robot to naturally engage in joint 
interaction is a demanding enterprise which combines major problems 
from areas such as computer science, linguistics, robotics, logics, 
psychology and philosophy. The prominent aspect highlighted in this 
thesis is that the combination of insights from research in these 
different areas leads to a revised and novel picture of the standard 
conceptions of meaning, reference and model theory. 

>From a technical point of view, GDRT embeds the established 
formalism of Discourse Representation Theory (DRT) into a system of 
Computational Tree Logic and the Procedural Reasoning System. The 
main technical innovations of GDRT are the consequent use of 
anchors to model the referential relations between semantic 
representations, planning and reality and the introduction of a 
normative account of pragmatic interpretation to the framework of truth-
conditional formal semantics. The definition of an interface between 
action theory (pragmatics) and natural language (semantics) as 
proposed with GDRT allows for the elegant treatment of phenomena 
which constitute the core concepts underlying the intentional use of 
language: propositional attitudes, planning and practical reason. 

This thesis can also be understood as an attempt to break the ground 
for other areas of application to DRT (in the sense of a 'language of 
thought' that fills in the gap between linguistics and robotics) without 
loss of the ability to process the wide range of natural language 
phenomena DRT has been designed for. 




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