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Series:   Elements in Semantics

Reduction and Unification in Natural Language Ontology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 December 2024

Kristina Liefke
Kristina Liefke
Affiliation:
Ruhr University Bochum

Summary

Semantic theories for natural language assume many different kinds of objects, including (among many others) individuals, properties, events, degrees, and kinds. Formal type-theoretic semantics tames this 'zoo' of objects by assuming only a small number of ontologically primitive categories and by obtaining the objects of all other categories through constructions out of these primitives. This Element surveys arguments for this reduction of semantic categories. It compares the ontological commitments of different such reductions and establishes relations between competing foundational semantic ontologies. In doing so, it yields insights into the requirements on minimal semantic ontologies for natural language and the challenges for semantic ontology engineering.
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Keywords

ontologycompositional semanticscategoriestype systemssemantic ontology engineering
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Series: Elements in Semantics
Online ISBN: 9781009559683
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication: 16 January 2025

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