13.1 DRT framework and discourse representation structures
2 min read•july 19, 2024
(DRT) is a dynamic approach to understanding how meaning is built in conversations. It uses mental structures called to show how we process and connect ideas as we talk, handling things like and time references.
DRT goes beyond looking at single sentences, focusing on how meaning grows as we speak. It's especially good at dealing with context-dependent stuff like pronouns and assumptions, making it a powerful tool for studying how we make sense of language in real conversations.
Discourse Representation Theory (DRT)
Components of Discourse Representation Theory
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- DRT dynamically models incremental meaning construction in discourse
- Key components:
- Discourse Representation Structures (DRSs) mentally represent the semantic content of a discourse containing () and (predicates and relations)
- Construction algorithm incrementally builds and updates DRSs as discourse unfolds handling , presuppositions, and
- Principles:
- Noun phrases introduce discourse referents accessible for anaphoric reference
- Conditions express properties and relations of discourse referents
- DRSs dynamically as new sentences are processed enabling
Construction of discourse representation structures
- Basic construction:
- Introduce new discourse referents for noun phrases
- Add conditions representing predicates and relations in the sentence
- Example: "A man walks. He whistles."
- DRS for first sentence:
- [x]
- [man(x), walk(x)]
- Updated DRS after second sentence:
- [x]
- [man(x), walk(x), whistle(x)]
- DRS for first sentence:
- Quantifiers:
- introduce a new DRS box with restricted referents
- Existential quantifiers introduce new referents in current DRS box
- and :
- Negation introduces a new DRS box with negated condition
- Disjunction introduces two alternative DRS boxes
Semantic content in DRSs
- :
- DRSs represent anaphoric dependencies
- Pronouns refer to accessible discourse referents introduced earlier in DRS
- Presuppositions:
- DRT treats presuppositions as conditions that must be satisfied in context for felicitous discourse
- Presuppositions are separate DRS boxes merged with main DRS if satisfied
- Temporal relations:
- DRT represents temporal ordering of events using additional conditions and discourse referents for time intervals
- Temporal connectives ("before", "after") introduce relations between time intervals of described events
DRT vs other semantic theories
- First-order logic (FOL):
- FOL statically assigns truth conditions to isolated sentences
- DRT extends FOL with dynamic perspective handling discourse-level phenomena
- Montague semantics:
- Montague semantics compositionally assigns meanings to sentences based on parts
- DRT incorporates Montague semantics insights but focuses on incremental meaning construction in discourse
- Advantages of DRT:
- More natural and intuitive representation of discourse structure and context-dependent meaning
- Better handles anaphora, presuppositions, and temporal relations than static theories (FOL)
- Limitations of DRT:
- Complex formalism requiring construction algorithm
- Challenges handling complex linguistic phenomena (bridging anaphora, discourse relations)
Key Terms to Review (24)
Anaphora: Anaphora is a linguistic term that refers to the use of a word or phrase to refer back to another word or phrase that was mentioned earlier in discourse. This concept is crucial for understanding how meaning is constructed in communication, as it connects various parts of a sentence or larger text, allowing speakers and listeners to track referents effectively.
Anaphora Resolution: Anaphora resolution is the process of determining the antecedent of an anaphoric expression, which is crucial for understanding how references are made in discourse. It involves recognizing how context and prior information influence the interpretation of pronouns or other referring expressions in communication, affecting meaning and coherence.
Binding: Binding refers to the relationship between a pronoun or an anaphoric expression and its antecedent, where the antecedent is a noun or noun phrase that the pronoun refers back to. This connection is crucial in understanding how reference works in language, especially when it comes to quantifiers and variables in logic, as well as how context shapes meaning in discourse representation structures.
Co-reference: Co-reference is a linguistic phenomenon where two or more expressions in a sentence or discourse refer to the same entity or individual. This relationship is essential for understanding meaning in communication, as it helps clarify which nouns or pronouns relate to one another, thereby facilitating comprehension of sentences and larger texts.
Conditions: In semantics and pragmatics, conditions refer to the specific requirements or circumstances that must be met for certain propositions or statements to hold true. These can include presuppositions, implicatures, and various constraints that influence meaning in discourse. Understanding conditions is essential for analyzing how language functions in context, especially when dealing with inference and the relationships between utterances.
Context dependence: Context dependence refers to the way in which the meaning of expressions, words, or sentences can change based on the context in which they are used. This feature is crucial for understanding how language functions in communication, as it affects interpretation through factors like speaker intention, listener knowledge, and the situational background.
Context-dependent interpretation: Context-dependent interpretation refers to how the meaning of an expression can change based on the context in which it is used. This includes factors like the surrounding text, speaker intentions, and the listener's background knowledge. Understanding this concept is essential for analyzing how language functions in discourse and how meaning is constructed within discourse representation structures.
Contextual accommodation: Contextual accommodation is the process by which a speaker or listener adjusts their understanding of an utterance based on the surrounding context and shared knowledge, enabling effective communication. This adjustment can involve updating a discourse representation structure to include new information that was not explicitly stated but is necessary for interpreting the meaning of the discourse.
Deixis: Deixis refers to words and phrases that cannot be fully understood without additional contextual information, particularly regarding the speaker, listener, and the situation of utterance. This concept is central in understanding how language functions in communication, highlighting the interplay between semantics and pragmatics, as well as how meaning shifts based on context and reference.
Discourse Entities: Discourse entities are the entities referred to in a discourse, including individuals, objects, or concepts that are introduced and tracked throughout a conversation or text. They play a crucial role in understanding how information is organized and referenced, affecting coherence and meaning. In the context of discourse representation structures, these entities are represented in a way that captures their relationships and how they evolve through the discourse.
Discourse representation structure: A discourse representation structure (DRS) is a formal representation used in semantics and pragmatics to capture the meaning of sentences within a discourse context. It helps to represent entities, events, and their relationships, allowing for an understanding of how information is interconnected and how it evolves throughout communication. DRS facilitates the modeling of how different parts of a discourse influence each other, which is essential for theories like centering theory that focus on the organization of information in conversation.
Discourse Representation Theory: Discourse Representation Theory (DRT) is a framework used to represent the meaning of sentences in context, particularly focusing on how discourse elements are structured and how references are resolved. It connects various aspects of language, including types of anaphora, dynamic semantics, and the representation of temporal information, which helps us understand how meaning is constructed during communication.
Disjunction: Disjunction is a logical operation that connects two propositions, indicating that at least one of them is true. It is typically represented by the symbol '∨' and is essential in propositional logic to form complex statements from simpler ones. This concept plays a crucial role in truth tables, where the truth values of disjunctive statements are determined, and extends to predicate logic, where disjunction allows for broader expressions involving quantified variables.
Drss: Discourse Representation Structures (DRS) are formal structures used in the Discourse Representation Theory (DRT) to represent the meaning of sentences in context. DRS allows for the representation of anaphoric expressions, quantification, and the relationship between sentences across a discourse, capturing how meaning evolves as new information is introduced.
Hans Kamp: Hans Kamp is a prominent figure in semantics known for his contributions to the development of Discourse Representation Theory (DRT). He proposed that language understanding involves creating structures that represent the meaning of discourse, allowing for the modeling of context and referential relationships within language. His work has significantly influenced how we analyze and represent meaning in both semantics and pragmatics, particularly in the context of discourse coherence.
Merging: Merging is the process in which distinct discourse representation structures (DRS) are combined into a single coherent representation, allowing for the integration of different pieces of information within a discourse. This process facilitates the understanding of how various entities and events relate to one another, ensuring that context is maintained while providing a unified view of the discourse. By merging DRSs, one can effectively track the flow of information and manage the complexity of discourse across multiple sentences.
Negation: Negation is a logical operation that takes a proposition and flips its truth value, turning true statements into false ones and vice versa. This fundamental concept is essential in various logical frameworks, allowing for the expression of contradiction and denial within arguments. Understanding negation helps clarify how statements interact in reasoning, affecting the interpretation of both individual propositions and more complex logical structures.
Presupposition: Presupposition refers to the implicit assumptions or background knowledge that must be accepted as true for a statement to make sense or be meaningful in a given context. This concept bridges the gap between semantics and pragmatics by illustrating how meaning can depend on context and shared knowledge, highlighting the interaction of language with social norms and expectations.
Pronouns: Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns in sentences, making communication more efficient and less repetitive. They can refer to people, things, or ideas and vary based on their grammatical function. Pronouns are essential in understanding deixis, as they help indicate the speaker, listener, and the context of the conversation, while also playing a key role in discourse representation and anaphora resolution.
Referents: Referents are the actual entities, individuals, or objects in the real world that linguistic expressions refer to. Understanding referents is crucial in semantics as they play a vital role in how meaning is constructed and interpreted within discourse, especially when considering how different sentences relate to each other and how we build meaning over time.
Temporal relations: Temporal relations refer to the ways in which time is expressed and understood in language, including the relationships between events, their durations, and the order in which they occur. These relations are crucial for conveying when something happens, its duration, and how events relate to one another in a narrative context. Understanding temporal relations helps us grasp the timeline of events and the flow of information within discourse representation structures.
Universal Quantifiers: Universal quantifiers are expressions that indicate that a property or relation holds for all elements within a certain domain. They play a key role in formal semantics and are used to construct sentences that express general statements, such as 'All humans are mortal.' Understanding how universal quantifiers function is essential for analyzing discourse representation structures, as they help define the scope and reference of variables within these structures.
Update: In the context of discourse representation theory (DRT), an update refers to the process of revising or adding information to an existing discourse representation structure (DRS) based on new input. This mechanism allows for the dynamic evolution of meaning as discourse progresses, enabling speakers and listeners to incorporate new entities, conditions, or relationships while maintaining coherence and continuity in conversation.
Uwe Reyle: Uwe Reyle is a prominent figure in the field of semantics and pragmatics, particularly known for his contributions to Discourse Representation Theory (DRT). His work focuses on how meaning is constructed in discourse through representation structures that capture the context and referents involved in communication. Reyle's insights help bridge the gap between linguistic form and the underlying cognitive processes that shape understanding in language.