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<Paper uid="P83-1010">
  <Title>A FOUNDATION FOR SEMANTIC INTERPRETATION</Title>
  <Section position="5" start_page="70" end_page="71" type="evalu">
    <SectionTitle>
8. Conclusion
</SectionTitle>
    <Paragraph position="0"> We have described a new approach to semantic interpretation, one suggested by the semantic formalism of Richard Montague. We believe this work to be a clean and elegant foundation for semantic interpretation, in contrast to previous ad hoc approaches. At the moment, though, the work is only a foundation; the test of a foundation is what can be constructed on top of it. We do not expect the construction to be unproblematic; here are some of the problems we will have to solve.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="1"> First, the approach is not just compositional but almost too compositional. At present, noun phrases are taken to be invariably and unalterably specific and extensional, that is to imply the existence of the unique entity or set of entities that they specify. In English, this is not always correct. A sentence such as: Nadia owns a unicorn.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="2"> implies that a unicorn exists, but this is not true of: Nadia talked abou~ a unicorn.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="3"> which also has a non-specific reading. Montague's solution to this problem does not seem easily adaptable  to Absity. 2deg Similarly, a sentence such as: The lion is not a beast to be trifled w/th.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="4"> can be a generic statement intended to be true of all lions; Montague did not treat generics.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="5"> Second, the approach is heavily dependent upon the expressive power of the underlying frame language. For example, our language, Frail, is yet deficient in its handling of time, and this is clearly reflected in Absity. Further, the approach makes certain claims about the nature of frame representations~that a descriptive adjective in some sense is a slot-filler pair, for example that might be shown to be untenable.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="6"> We will also have to deal with problems in quantification, anaphoric reference, and many other areas. Nevertheless, we believe that this approach to semantic interpretation shows considerable promise.</Paragraph>
  </Section>
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