Towards a Computational Theory of Definite Anaphora Comprehension in English Discourse
This report investigates the process of focussing as a description and explanation of the comprehension of certain anaphoric expressions in English discourse. The investigation centers on the interpretation of definite anaphora, that is, on the personal pronouns, and noun phrases used with a definit...
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| Language: | en_US |
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2004
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/6880 |
| _version_ | 1811070346489495552 |
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| author | Sidner, Candace Lee |
| author_facet | Sidner, Candace Lee |
| author_sort | Sidner, Candace Lee |
| collection | MIT |
| description | This report investigates the process of focussing as a description and explanation of the comprehension of certain anaphoric expressions in English discourse. The investigation centers on the interpretation of definite anaphora, that is, on the personal pronouns, and noun phrases used with a definite article the, this or that. Focussing is formalized as a process in which a speaker centers attention on a particular aspect of the discourse. An algorithmic description specifies what the speaker can focus on and how the speaker may change the focus of the discourse as the discourse unfolds. The algorithm allows for a simple focussing mechanism to be constructed: and element in focus, an ordered collection of alternate foci, and a stack of old foci. The data structure for the element in focus is a representation which encodes a limted set of associations between it and other elements from teh discourse as well as from general knowledge. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T08:34:30Z |
| id | mit-1721.1/6880 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T08:34:30Z |
| publishDate | 2004 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/68802019-04-09T18:32:26Z Towards a Computational Theory of Definite Anaphora Comprehension in English Discourse Sidner, Candace Lee This report investigates the process of focussing as a description and explanation of the comprehension of certain anaphoric expressions in English discourse. The investigation centers on the interpretation of definite anaphora, that is, on the personal pronouns, and noun phrases used with a definite article the, this or that. Focussing is formalized as a process in which a speaker centers attention on a particular aspect of the discourse. An algorithmic description specifies what the speaker can focus on and how the speaker may change the focus of the discourse as the discourse unfolds. The algorithm allows for a simple focussing mechanism to be constructed: and element in focus, an ordered collection of alternate foci, and a stack of old foci. The data structure for the element in focus is a representation which encodes a limted set of associations between it and other elements from teh discourse as well as from general knowledge. 2004-10-20T20:04:06Z 2004-10-20T20:04:06Z 1979-06-01 AITR-537 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/6880 en_US AITR-537 265 p. 20540315 bytes 16148016 bytes application/postscript application/pdf application/postscript application/pdf |
| spellingShingle | Sidner, Candace Lee Towards a Computational Theory of Definite Anaphora Comprehension in English Discourse |
| title | Towards a Computational Theory of Definite Anaphora Comprehension in English Discourse |
| title_full | Towards a Computational Theory of Definite Anaphora Comprehension in English Discourse |
| title_fullStr | Towards a Computational Theory of Definite Anaphora Comprehension in English Discourse |
| title_full_unstemmed | Towards a Computational Theory of Definite Anaphora Comprehension in English Discourse |
| title_short | Towards a Computational Theory of Definite Anaphora Comprehension in English Discourse |
| title_sort | towards a computational theory of definite anaphora comprehension in english discourse |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/6880 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sidnercandacelee towardsacomputationaltheoryofdefiniteanaphoracomprehensioninenglishdiscourse |