http://hdl.handle.net/1813/3292 Tue, 21 May 2013 10:27:54 GMT 2013-05-21T10:27:54Z http://hdl.handle.net/1813/30598 Title: Applying Discourse Semantics and Pragmatics to Co-reference in Picture Sequences Authors: Abusch, Dorit Abstract: This paper looks at co­‐indexing in pictorial narratives such as comics. Using a formal‐semantic model of the content of pictures, it is argued that depicted objects are existentially quantified, and are identified post-­semantically. A DRT model for pictorial narratives is proposed where discourse referents are constructed as areas of a picture. Description: To appear in proceedings of Sinn und Bedeutung 17. Sat, 15 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1813/30598 2012-12-15T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1813/28942 Title: On modal interpretations of the French conditionnel Authors: Howell, Jonathan Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1813/28942 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1813/28941 Title: Second Occurrence Focus and the Acoustics of Prominence Authors: Howell, Jonathan Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1813/28941 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1813/28574 Title: Circumstantial and Temporal Dependence in Counterfactual Modals Authors: Abusch, Dorit Abstract: “Counterfactual” readings of might/could have were previously analyzed using metaphysical modal bases. This paper presents examples and scenarios where the assumptions of such a branching-time semantics are not met, because there are facts at the base world that exclude the complement of the modal becoming true. Additional arguments show that counterfactual readings are context-dependent. These data motivate a semantics using a circumstantial (or factual) modal base, which refers to context-dependent facts about a world and time. The analysis is formulated in a version of the premise semantics for modality. Description: Final pre-publication version of a paper to appear in Natural Language Semantics. Sun, 19 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1813/28574 2012-02-19T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1813/28568 Title: Association with Focus Authors: Rooth, Mats Description: 1985 PhD dissertation, Dept. of Linguistics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Tue, 01 Jan 1985 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1813/28568 1985-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1813/22954 Title: Acoustic classification of focus in a web corpus of comparatives Authors: Howell, Jonathan; Rooth, Mats; Wagner, Michael Abstract: Describes experiments in using a support-vector-machine to classify intonational focus on pronouns in a web-derived corpus of comparative clauses. Description: Slides for presentation at workshop New Tools and Methods for Very-Large-Scale Phonetics Research, University of Pennsylvania, Jan. 28-31, 2011. Thu, 02 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1813/22954 2011-06-02T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1813/22953 Title: A recursive phonology interface for WH-F alternative semantics Authors: Rooth, Mats; Dong, Hongyuan Abstract: The presentation presents an analysis of intonational focus and focused in-situ WH phrases that couples the projection of alternatives in alternative semantics for focus with phonological prominence in a stress-F account of the phonology interface for focus. Description: Slides and poster from Semantics and Linguistic Theory 21, Rutgers University, May 20-22, 2011. Thu, 02 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1813/22953 2011-06-02T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1813/13093 Title: A corpus search methodology for focus realization Authors: Howell, Jonathan; Rooth, Mats Abstract: We describe a methodology for investigating the semantic-grammatical conditioning and phonetic realization of contrastive intonation using a web harvest of particular word strings followed by grammatical and acoustic analysis. A commercial audio web search engine using speech recognition retrieved 179 MP3 files purportedly containing a token of the string 'than I did.' In this comparative clause fragment, contrastive focus commonly falls on the subject 'she did more than I_F did' , on 'did', 'I wish I had done more than I did_F', or following 'I said more now than I did before_F' . The 96 true tokens of 'than I did' were classified into the categories 'subject', 'did', and 'following' by grammatical and semantic criteria. For each token, 5 segment intervals were hand-annotated and more than 300 acoustic parameters extracted using a Praat script. SVM machine learning classifiers were trained that identify focus classes by acoustic criteria. On a 10-fold crossvalidation test, the classifier achieves 90.2% accuracy in discriminating the dominant 'subject' and 'following' classes. In a listening task, human subjects achieved comparable accuracy of 90.3 given only the acoustic target 'than I did'. Stepwise logistic regression revealed measures of duration, f0, intensity, formants, and formant bandwidths among the significant factors. Description: Poster presentation, 157th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America. Abstract appears in J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Volume 125, Issue 4, pp. 2573-2573. Sun, 05 Jul 2009 07:44:02 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1813/13093 2009-07-05T07:44:02Z http://hdl.handle.net/1813/13092 Title: Second occurrence focus and relativized stress F Authors: Rooth, Mats Description: Prepublication version of paper to appear in Fery, Caroline and Zimmermann, Malte (eds.) Information Stucture: Theoretical, Typological, and Experimental Approaches. Sat, 04 Jul 2009 12:49:32 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1813/13092 2009-07-04T12:49:32Z http://hdl.handle.net/1813/13079 Title: Web Harvest of Minimal Intonational Pairs Authors: Howell, Jonathan; Rooth, Mats Abstract: This paper describes experiments on gathering spoken-language data on the web that bears on issues of the phonetics-phonology and semantics-pragmatics of intonation. The target data are tokens of fixed word strings like "than I did", where intonation varies in a way which correlates with grammatical and pragmatic context. In a web harvest procedure, audio files were identified using a search engine based in speech-to-text, downloaded, and cut to a relevant segment under program control. In an application of such a database, an SVM classifier was trained to make a grammatically determined distinction in intonation based on purely acoustic cues. Sources of error in the retrieval are quantified. Description: Preliminary version of paper to be presented at Web as Corpus 5, September 2009. Final version will be substituted on July 17, 2009. Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:50:31 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/1813/13079 2009-07-02T12:50:31Z