John A. Bateman

Enabling technology for multilingual natural language generation: the KPML development environment

Natural language generation is now moving away from research prototypes into more practical applications. Generation functionality is also being asked to play a more significant role in established applications such as machine translation. In both cases, multilingual generation techniques have much to offer. However, the take-up of multilingual generation is being restricted by a critical lack both of large-scale linguistic resources suited to the generation task and of appropriate development environments. This paper describes KPML, a multilingual development environment that offers one possible solution to these problems. KPML aims to provide generation projects with standardized, broad-coverage, reusable resources and a basic engine for using such resources for generation. A variety of focused debugging aids ensure efficient maintenance, while supporting multilingual work such as contrastive language development and automatic merging of independently developed resources. KPML is based on a new, generic approach to multilinguality in resource description that extends significantly beyond previous approaches. The system has already been used in a number of large generation projects and is freely available to the generation community.

A linguistic ontology of space for natural language processing

We present a detailed semantics for linguistic spatial expressions supportive of computational processing that draws substantially on the principles and tools of ontological engineering and formal ontology. We cover language concerned with space, actions in space and spatial relationships and develop an ontological organization that relates such expressions to general classes of fixed semantic import. The result is given as an extension of a linguistic ontology, the Generalized Upper Model, an organization which has been used for over a decade in natural language processing applications. We describe the general nature and features of this ontology and show how we have extended it for working particularly with space. Treaitng the semantics of natural language expressions concerning space in this way offers a substantial simplification of the general problem of relating natural spatial language to its contextualized interpretation. Example specifications based on natural language examples are presented, as well as an evaluation of the ontologys coverage, consistency, predictive power, and applicability.

Towards constructive text, diagram, and layout generation for information presentation

Combining elements appropriately within a coherent page layout is a well-recognized and crucial aspect of sophisticated information presentation. The precise function and nature of layout has not, however, been sufficiently addressed within computational approaches; attention is often restricted to relatively local issues of typography and text-formatting, leaving broader issues of layout unaddressed. In this paper we focus on the selection and function of layout in pages that appropriately combine textual and graphical representation styles to yield coherent presentation designs. We demonstrate that layout offers a rich resource for achieving presentational coherence, alongside more traditional resources such as text-formatting and the text-internal marking of discourse connections. We also introduce an integrated approach to layout, text, and diagram generation. Our approach is developed on the basis of a preliminary empirical investigation of professionally produced layouts, followed by implementation within a prototype information system in the area of art history.

Coherence relations: Towards a general specification

In this paper we consider the crucial problem of providing ‘coherence relation’ analyses for natural texts. Among the several accounts currently being pursued, claims of broad compatibility usually combine simultaneously with a lack of detailed consensus. To improve on this situation, we take a selection of approaches from the current state of the art—ranging from theories rooted in functional linguistics to formal semantic discourse theory—and apply them to the concrete task of text analysis. Contrasting these analysis styles discloses a range of information assumed by the distinct approaches. We organize this information according to principles of linguistic “stratification,” “metafunction,” and “paradigmatic/syntagmatic axiality” in order to provide a bi‐stratal, three‐way classification system from which individual discourse structure relations can be motivated. This provides a more effective decomposition of the space of “discourse structure information” which at the same time synthesizes most previo...

Spatial Cognition VII

Invited Talks.- Individual Differences in Spatial Language and Way-Finding: The Role of Cognition, Emotion and Motivation.- CogSketch: Sketch Understanding for Cognitive Science Research and for Education.- The Refraction of Space: A Radical Reversal of Direction.- Distance and Time.- Investigating the Role of Goals and Environmental Structure on Memory for Distance and Time in Virtual Environments.- The Spatial and Temporal Underpinnings of Social Distance.- Navigation.- The Role of Slope in Human Reorientation.- Influence of Geometry and Objects on Local Route Choices during Wayfinding.- Testing Landmark Identification Theories in Virtual Environments.- Men to the East and Women to the Right: Wayfinding with Verbal Route Instructions.- Science Education and Spatial Skill.- Do All Science Disciplines Rely on Spatial Abilities? Preliminary Evidence from Self-report Questionnaires.- Gestures in Geology: The Roles of Spatial Skills, Expertise, and Communicative Context.- Using Analogical Mapping to Assess the Affordances of Scale Models Used in Earth and Environmental Science Education.- Language.- Aligning Spatial Perspective in Route Descriptions.- The Role of Grammatical Aspect in the Dynamics of Spatial Descriptions.- Implicit Spatial Length Modulates Time Estimates, But Not Vice Versa.- Computational Modelling.- Bio-inspired Architecture for Active Sensorimotor Localization.- Color Binding in Visuo-Spatial Working Memory.- Reference Frames.- Human EEG Correlates of Spatial Navigation within Egocentric and Allocentric Reference Frames.- Putting Egocentric and Allocentric into Perspective.- Reference Frames Influence Spatial Memory Development within and Across Sensory Modalities.- Do We Need to Walk for Effective Virtual Reality Navigation? Physical Rotations Alone May Suffice.- Visual Attention in Spatial Reasoning.- Eye Movements Reflect Reasoning with Mental Images but Not with Mental Models in Orientation Knowledge Tasks.- An Eye-Tracking Study of Integrative Spatial Cognition over Diagrammatic Representations.- Maps and Assistance.- Enriching Spatial Knowledge through a Multiattribute Locational System.- Interactive Assistance for Tour Planning.- Verbally Annotated Tactile Maps - Challenges and Approaches.- Generating Adaptive Route Instructions Using Hierarchical Reinforcement Learning.- Language, Neuroscience and Education.- Can Mirror-Reading Reverse the Flow of Time?.

Spatial knowledge representation for human-robot interaction

Non-intuitive styles of interaction between humans and mobile robots still constitute a major barrier to the wider application and acceptance of mobile robot technology. More natural interaction can only be achieved if ways are found of bridging the gap between the forms of spatialkno wledge maintained by such robots and the forms of language used by humans to communicate such knowledge. In this paper, we present the beginnings of a computational model for representing spatialkno wledge that is appropriate for interaction between humans and mobile robots. Work on spatial reference in human-human communication has established a range of reference systems adopted when referring to objects; we show the extent to which these strategies transfer to the human-robot situation and touch upon the problem of differing perceptual systems. Our results were obtained within an implemented kernel system which permitted the performance of experiments with human test subjects interacting with the system. We show how the results of the experiments can be used to improve the adequacy and the coverage of the system, and highlight necessary directions for future research.

Selective information presentation in an integrated publication system: an application of genre-driven text generation

Abstract In this paper we focus on an experimental application scenario in which the presentation of appropriately selected information is crucial. The scenario involves an editor working on producing a large-scale encyclopedia on the basis of a large number of submitted source articles. In order to make editorial decisions, that editor needs to have access to dynamically selected aspects of the contents of those articles—;a “summarization” of that content needs to be achieved. We present a first prototype that provides a generic basis for such a functionality. The essential features of our system supporting this functionality build on multilingual, genre-driven automatic text generation. The central role of genre in this model is motivated and briefly illustrated by considering examples of generated texts. The scenario as a whole naturally extends to allow considerations of the information needs of the information-seeking non-expert and to open information systems.

Modelling models of robot navigation using formal spatial ontology

In this paper we apply a formal ontological framework in order to deconstruct two prominent approaches to navigation from cognitive robotics, the Spatial Semantic Hierarchy of Kuipers and the Route Graph of Krieg-Bruckner, Werner and others. The ontological framework is based on our current work on ontology specification, where we are investigating Masolo et al.s Descriptive Ontology for Linguistic and Cognitive Engineering (DOLCE) extended particularly for space and navigation by incorporating aspects of Smith et al.s Basic Formal Ontology (BFO). Our conclusion is that ontology should necessarily play an important role in the design and modelling of cognitive robotic systems: comparability between approaches is improved, modelling gaps and weaknesses are highlighted, re-use of existing formalisations is facilitated, and extensions for interaction with other components, such as natural language systems, are directly supported.

Multimodal film analysis : how films mean

1. Introduction: Analyzing Film 2. Paradigmatic and Syntagmatic Organisation 3. The Paradigmatic Organisation of Film 4. The Syntagmatic Organisation of Film 5. Analysis: Combining Syntagmatic and Paradigmatic Accounts in the Empirical Analysis of Film 6. The Syntagmatic Organisation of Film (II): Descriptive Syntagma 7. The Paradigmatic Organisation of Film (II): Relations within the shot 8. Filmic Analysis Within and Around the Shot 9. Conclusion

Language and Space: a two-level semantic approach based on principles of ontological engineering

An increasing number of applications for dialogue systems presuppose an ability to deal appropriately with space. Dialogues with assistance systems, intelligent mobility devices and navigation systems all commonly involve the use of spatial language. For smooth interaction, this spatial language cannot be interpreted ‘in the abstract’—it must instead be related directly to a user’s physical location, orientation, goals and needs and be embedded appropriately in a system’s interaction. This is far from straightforward. The situated interpretation of natural language concerning space, spatial relationships and spatial activities represents an unsolved challenge at this time. Despite extensive work on spatial language involving many disciplines, there are no generally accepted accounts that provide support for the kind of flexible language use observed in real human-human spatial dialogues. In this paper, I review some recent approaches to the semantics for natural language expressions concerning space in order to motivate a two-level semantic-based approach to the interpretation of spatial language. This draws on a new combination of natural language processing and principles of ontological engineering and stands as a foundation for more sophisticated and natural dialogue system behavior where spatial information is involved.