A squib on anaphora and coindexing

Area of Science:

• Semantics
• Formal Linguistics
• Computational Linguistics

Background:

• Two main semantic theories of anaphora exist: those requiring pre-interpretation coindexing and those, like Discourse Representation Theory (DRT), which do not.
• Theories requiring coindexing (e.g., File Change Semantics, Dynamic Predicate Logic, Compositional DRT) face challenges in integrating interpretation and coindexing processes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a procedural solution for semantic theories that require pre-interpretation coindexing.
• To enable these theories to interleave interpretation and coindexing in a manner similar to Discourse Representation Theory (DRT).

Main Methods:

• The study outlines a procedure designed to be compatible with semantic theories that necessitate full coindexing of anaphora and their antecedents.
• This procedure aims to facilitate a more integrated approach to interpretation and coindexing, drawing inspiration from DRT.

Main Results:

• The proposed procedure allows theories like File Change Semantics, Dynamic Predicate Logic, and CDRT to overcome the limitation of requiring complete coindexing before interpretation.
• It offers a way to achieve the benefits of DRT's flexible coindexing within frameworks that traditionally demand explicit coindexing.

Conclusions:

• The developed procedure provides a valuable mechanism for enhancing semantic theories of anaphora that require pre-interpretation coindexing.
• This approach bridges a gap between different theoretical frameworks, offering a more unified way to handle anaphora resolution in natural language semantics.