Label Semantics: A Formal Framework for Modeling with Words

A framework for modeling with words is proposed based on the idea of selecting labels for values from a fixed finite set of terms. In this context membership degree is defined as the likelihood that a particular word is deemed appropriate as a label for a certain value. A calculus is described for evaluating linguistic expressions based on label semantics and this is compared with the more typical many-valued logic approaches. Reasoning with label semantics in specific contexts is then also considered.