This folder introduces you to compositional semantics. Compositional semantics is a method for deriving the logical form of a sentence from its syntax tree. That logical form is designed to support automated inference: it focusses on the meaning of words that contribute to the validity of logical arguments (rather than commonsense inference): words like "not", "every" "some". It exploits the principle of compositionality to derive these formal meaning representations from linguistic syntax, by augmenting each rule in the grammar with a syntactic component that tells you how to combine the meanings of the daugther nodes into the meaning of the mother node. This folder consists of:
- three videos of short lectures. They cover:
- Introduction to Semantics
- Formal Semantic Representations: Some first steps
- Compositional semantics: Technical details
- some required reading from Jurafsky and Martin
- a quiz that tests your understanding of the material presented here.
Lecture 18 Slides: Whole!
18a: Introduction to Semantics
- Slides: 18a_slides.pdf
18b: Formal Semantic Representations: Some first steps
- Slides: 18b_slides.pdf
18c: Compositional Semantics: Technical details
- Slides: 18c_slides.pdf
Recommended Reading
J&M chapter 19 (2nd edition chapter 17) and J&M 2nd edition 18.1--18.3.
NOTE: The abbreviation J&M refers to the textbook:
Dan Jurafsky and James H. Martin, Speech and Language Processing.
When we specify 2nd edition, we are referring to the version of the book that was published by Pearson International in 2008.
When we specify 3rd edition, then we will supply links to the drafts of the relevant parts of that book (since the third editiion isn't published yet, but the current draft is available here).
Quiz: Compositional Semantics
These questions are designed to test your understanding of the above course content; doing this quiz does not contribute to your overall grade. Some questions require a text answer. You can ask for formative feedback on these from your tutor or on piazza. Other questions are multiple choice or they require a numeric answer: you will get immediate feedback for these. Please don't attempt this quiz until you have acquainted yourself with this lecture and the required reading.
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