Constraints over Lambda-Structures in Semantic Underspecification

Markus Egg, Joachim Niehren, Peter Ruhrberg, Feiyu Xu

Abstract: We introduce a first-order language for semantic underspecification that we call Constraint Language for Lambda-Structures (CLLS). A λ-structure can be considered as a λ-term up to consistent renaming of bound variables (λ-equality); a constraint of CLLS is an underspecified description of a λ-structure. CLLS solves a capturing problem omnipresent in underspecified scope representations. CLLS features constraints for dominance, lambda binding, parallelism, and anaphoric links. Based on CLLS we present a simple, integrated, and underspecified treatment of scope, parallelism, and anaphora.