Natural Language Querying of Historical Databases

In this paper we examine the connection between two areas of semantics, namely the semantics of historical databases and the semantics of natural language querying, and link them together via a common view of the semantics of time. Since the target application domain is an historical database, we present the essential features of the Historical Relational Database Model (HRDM), an extension to the relational model motivated by the desire to incorporate more "real world" semantics into a database at the conceptual level. We then present the essential features of QE-III, a formally defined English database query language whose semantic and pragmatic theory, based on a Montague-type semantics, makes explicit reference to the notion of denotation with respect to a moment of time. We demonstrate the use of this language to query an example historical database, and discuss the issues of how to provide both a semantic and a pragmatic interpretation for questions within a model-theoretic framework.

[1]  Roger C. Schank,et al.  Conceptual dependency: A theory of natural language understanding , 1972 .

[2]  Chin-Liang Chang.  DEDUCE 2: Further Investigations of Deduction in Relational Data Bases , 1977, Logic and Data Bases.

[3]  Larry R. Harris,et al.  The ROBOT System: Natural language processing applied to data base query , 1978, ACM Annual Conference.

[4]  James Clifford,et al.  Towards an Algebra of Historical Relational Databases , 1984 .

[5]  E. Pope.  Questions and answers in English , 1976 .

[6]  Charles J. Fillmore,et al.  THE CASE FOR CASE. , 1967 .

[7]  Richard Milton Martin,et al.  Toward a systematic pragmatics , 1974 .

[8]  Jeroen Groenendijk,et al.  On the semantics of questions and the pragmatics of answers , 1984 .

[9]  Y. Bar-Hillel.  V.—INDEXICAL EXPRESSIONS , 1954 .

[10]  C. Morris.  Signs, Language and Behavior , 1947 .

[11]  Asa Kasher,et al.  What is a Theory of Use , 1977 .

[12]  Dietmar Zaefferer,et al.  Questions and Answers in a Context-Dependent Montague Grammar , 1978 .

[13]  Takao Gunji.  Toward a computational theory of pragmatics--discourse, presupposition, and implicature , 1981 .

[14]  Michael Ruisdael Bennett,et al.  Some extensions of a montague fragment of English , 1974 .

[15]  Robert Rosen,et al.  CHAPTER 7 – Introduction to Appendix , 1985 .

[16]  Albert Croker,et al.  The historical relational data model (HRDM) and algebra based on lifespans , 1986, 1987 IEEE Third International Conference on Data Engineering.

[17]  J. Pelc.  Studies in Functional Logical Semiotics of Natural Language , 1971 .

[18]  Alasdair Urquhart,et al.  Temporal Logic , 1971 .

[19]  V. Aldrich,et al.  Signs, Language, and Beahavior , 1947 .

[20]  David Scott Warren,et al.  Formal semantics for time in databases , 1982, TODS.

[21]  R. Montague.  Formal philosophy; selected papers of Richard Montague , 1974 .

[22]  Matthew R. Bennett.  A response to Karttunen on questions , 1977 .

[23]  James Clifford.  A logical framework for the temporal semantics and natural-language querying of historical databases , 1982 .

[24]  Jacov Ben-Zvi,et al.  The time relational model , 1982 .

[25]  Robin Cooper.  Variable Binding and Relative Clauses , 1978 .

[26]  Richard T. Snodgrass,et al.  The temporal query language TQuel , 1987, TODS.

[27]  R. Quirk,et al.  A university grammar of English , 1973 .

[28]  David Scott Warren.  Syntax and semantics in parsing: an application to montague grammar. , 1979 .

[29]  Robin Cooper,et al.  The syntax and semantics of when-questions , 1982 .

[30]  Hsu Chang.  Bubbles for relational database , 1978 .

[31]  N. Belnap.  Questions and Answers in Montague Grammar , 1982 .

[32]  E. Engdahl.  Constituent Questions: The Syntax and Semantics of Questions with Special Reference to Swedish , 1985 .

[33]  David L. Waltz,et al.  An English language question answering system for a large relational database , 1978, CACM.

[34]  David R. Dowty.  A guide to Montague's PTQ , 1978 .

[35]  C. L. Hamblin.  QUESTIONS IN MONTAGUE ENGLISH , 1976 .

[36]  David R. Dowty,et al.  Word Meaning and Montague Grammar , 1979 .

[37]  Joyce Friedman.  An unlabeled bracketing solution to the problem of conjoined phrases in Montague's PTQ , 1979, J. Philos. Log..

[38]  Shashi K. Gadia,et al.  A query language for a homogeneous temporal database , 1985, PODS '85.

[39]  R. Cohn.  Language and behavior. , 1961, American scientist.

[40]  R. Scha.  Logical foundations for question answering , 1983 .

[41]  Richard T. Snodgrass,et al.  A taxonomy of time databases , 1985, SIGMOD Conference.

[42]  Raymond Reiter.  On Closed World Data Bases , 1977, Logic and Data Bases.

[43]  James Clifford,et al.  On an algebra for historical relational databases: two views , 1985, SIGMOD Conference.

[44]  David Scott Warren,et al.  A parsing method for montague grammars , 1978 .

[45]  Gary G. Hendrix,et al.  Developing a natural language interface to complex data , 1977, TODS.

[46]  Jeroen Groenendijk,et al.  Formal methods in the study of language , 1983 .

[47]  L WaltzDavid.  An English language question answering system for a large relational database , 1978 .

[48]  Jack Minker,et al.  Logic and Data Bases , 1978, Springer US.

[49]  Richard Montague,et al.  ENGLISH AS A FORMAL LANGUAGE , 1975 .

[50]  Z. Vendler.  Linguistics in Philosophy , 1967 .

[51]  James Clifford,et al.  Natural Language Querying of Historical Databases -- the Qe-Iii Language Definition and Examples , 1987 .

[52]  Peter Dadam,et al.  Designing DBMS support for the temporal dimension , 1984, SIGMOD '84.

[53]  Rudolf Carnap,et al.  Meaning and Necessity , 1947 .