finin@prc.unisys.com (Tim Finin) (11/30/89)
AI SEMINAR
UNISYS PAOLI RESEARCH CENTER
Finding Spatial Relations in the World
to Match our Prepositions
Annette Herskovits
Wellesley College and University of Pennsylvania
Lexical meanings are notoriously difficult to define. For any definition,
there seems to exist a counterexample. Focusing on spatial prepositions
("across", "at", "over", etc.), I will propose systematic, but quite
complex, interactions between word meaning and cognition to account for the
broad range of uses of a word.
I will assume a geometric schema associated with each spatial preposition,
but also active processes of fitting the schema onto real situations. Two
phenomena account for the flexibility of lexical use: first, the fitting
takes advantage of selections, groupings, idealizations, and tranformations
which are part and parcel of spatial cognition (rather than strictly
linguistic processes); second, approximate fits are acceptable, subject to
well-defined conditions.
However, this search for a best fitting schema cannot explain all
prepositional uses. In addition, there are some standard types of
situation, defined as functional interactions rather than strictly
spatially, for which the use of a particular preposition is required,
either by convention or because of salience.
I will discuss the consequences of this analysis for linguistics and
artificial intelligence.
11:00 pm Tuesday, December 5, 1989
BIC Conference Room
Unisys Paoli Research Center
Route 252 and Central Ave.
Paoli PA 19311
-- non-Unisys visitors who are interested in attending should --
-- send email to finin@prc.unisys.com or call 215-648-7446 --
--
Tim Finin finin@prc.unisys.com (internet)
Unisys Paoli Research Center 215-648-7446 (office) 215-648-7412 (fax)
PO Box 517, Paoli, PA 19301 215-386-1749 (home)