An Underspecified Segmented Discourse Representation Theory (USDRT)

Abstract

There are two conceivable readings for (1). Either (a) it refers to the party or (b) Peter only disliked the food. Discourse grammars like Segmented Discourse Representation Theory (SDRT) offer an explanation for this phenomenon. SDRT an extension ofDRT (Kamp and Reyle, 1993) describes a complex propositional structure of Discourse Representation Structures (DRSs) connected via discourse relations. The hierarchical ordering imposed by relations like narration or elaboration can be used to make predictions about possible attachment sites within the already processed discourse as well as suitable antecedents of anaphora. The next section discusses the question of whether the SDRT formalisation used for discourse structure should also capture the ambiguities, as expressed in (1), for instance, via an underspecified representation. Section 3 introduces a tree logic proposed by Kallmeyer called TDG. Following Schilder (1997), this formalism is employed for the representation of the discourse structure. Section 4 presents the conjoined version of SDRT and TDG. This is a novel combination of the discourse grammar and a tree logic indicating the hierarchical discourse structure. Finally, a USDRT formalisation of the discourse example discussed is given.