A VORONOi-BASED PIVOT REPRESENTATION OF SPATIAL CONCEPTS AND ITS APPLICATION TO ROUTE DESCRIPTIONS EXPRESSED IN NATURAL LANGUAGE

Different representations of space are not in general equivalent. This point is clearly illustrated in research on the generation of sketches from route descriptions given in natural language: many linguistic expressions determine only partially a spatial situation. This article explores the role played by a pivot representation based on the Voronoi diagram. We study the use of this model in the context of the translation of verbal descriptions into sketches. We show how, by combining a linguistic analysis of a route description and the Voronoi model of space, one can construct a pivot representation that integrates both the spatial and linguistic aspects of a situation, We aso examine the use of the pivot representation within the framework of the automated generation of linguistic descriptions from geographical databases. The development of a pivot representation depends on the existence of a dictionary that renders explicit the equivalence between linguistic and spatial aspects of each situation. With the help of the Voronoi model, the basis for such a dictionary has already been established for spatial prepositions in English. Extensions to other linguistic elements are under study and appear to be achievable.