Using slots and modifiers in logic grammars for natural language

摘要

In this paper, ideas are presented for the expression of natural language grammars in clausal logic, following the work of Colmerauer, Kowalski, Dahl, Warren, and F. Pereira. A uniform format for syntactic structures is proposed, in which every syntactic item consists of a central predication, a cluster of modifiers, a list of features, and a determiner. The modifiers of a syntactic item are again syntactic items (of the same format), and a modifier's determiner shows its function in the semantic structure. Rules for semantic interpretation are given which include the determination of scoping of modifiers (with quantifier scoping as a special case). In the rules for syntax, the notions of slots and slot-filling play an important role, based on previous work by the author. The ideas have been tested in an English data base query system, implemented in Prolog.