A hypothetical reasoning based framework for NL processing

Abstract

We examine some natural language uses of a new type of logic grammars called Assumption Grammars, particularly suitable for hypothetical reasoning. They are based on intuitionistic and linear implications scoped over the current continuation, which allow us to follow given branches of the computation under hypotheses that disappear when and if backtracking takes place. We show how Assumption Grammars can simplify the treatment of some crucial computational linguistics problems, e.g. long distance dependencies, while simultaneously facilitating more readable grammars.