SUO: linguistics and SUMO
Dear SUMO Group:
Let me first introduce myself to the group. My name is
Scott Farrar and I'm a doctoral student at the University of
Arizona. Our research group at the UofA is interested in
providing input to the SUMO effort regarding issues that are
related to &%Language. (The UofA group is developing an expert
system to perform linguistic analysis on language data.)
In my discussion with Ian, several issues surfaced:
First there is the status of the concept &%Language. We suggest
expanding its status somewhat:
In addition to including &%Language as a subclass of &%LinguisticExpression,
we think &%Language should include a set-theoretic notion. Many linguists
argue that a language is a potentially infinite set of what SUMO calls
&%LinguisticExpressions. Therefore Ian suggested that SUMO add,
(disjoint Language FiniteSet)
Also, if we construe language as a set of &%LinguisticExpressions, then
is it correct to say (subclass Language LinguisticExpression)? I think that
if we adopt the set-theoretic notion of &%Language, then we need some way
of disallowing Language as a member of the set that is itself &%Language.
Perhaps this touches on Russell's Paradox?
Second, &%Language should be linked ontologically to the concepts
of &%SocialInterction and/or &%Communication. Let me express my ideas
in English:
"Language is a means for communication."
"And/or "Language is used for social interaction."
Third, I suggest that we give some thought to specifying the various forms
of &%Language and &%LinguisticExpressions: perhaps a 'form' slot with the
possible values, 'written,' 'spoken,' or 'signed.'
Fourth, I suggest the following subclasses of &%Language:
(subclass HumanLanguage Language)
(documentation Human Language "This is the subclass of &%Language used and
interpreted by a &%Human. Instances include all extinct and extant human
languages")
(instance Spanish HumanLanguage)
(subclass ArtificialLanguage Language)
(documentation ArtificialLanguage "This is the subclass of &%Language
designed by humans but intended for and interpreted by a &%Machine.
This class is disjoint from the subclass of languages that are
constructed to be used by humans, eg. Esperanto.")
;;I'm less sure about the following instance examples,
;;any suggestions?
(instance Java ArtificialLanguage)
(instance SQL ArtificialLanguage)
(subclass AnimalLanguage Language)
(documentation AnimalLanguage "This is the subclass of &%Language used and
interpreted
by an &%Animal that is not &%Human.")
(instance DolphinLanguage AnimalLanguage)
;;Obviously, the status of AnimalLanguage as "Language" is
;;controversial for many linguists
Please share your thoughts,
Scott
farrar@u.arizona.edu
1049 N. Jacobus Ave
Tucson AZ 85705