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The paper deals with predicate nominals and related constructions in the Vakh dialect of Khanty. They include nominal predicates (which typically express proper inclusion and equation), predicate adjectives, predicate locatives, existentials, possessive, comparative constructions, as well as predicate comitatives and abessives. These constructions tend to be similar grammatically in lacking a semantically rich lexical verb. The following elements can be used in these clauses: the copula wăs- ’be’, the copula wăl- ’be, live’, the existential negative predicate ӛntím neg.ex, the predicative suffix -iki prd, the possessive verb tăjá- ’have’ and a zero copula. The study was carried out on two diachronic layers and revealed the changes in the Vakh dialect of Khanty — a drift to the Russian models in some cases.

In many western Austronesian languages, the fact that an agentive argument lacks full control is morphologically marked on the verb. The formatives used for this purpose are often also found on stative predicates, and it has been suggested that limited-control predicates are stative-like in that they denote the result state of a given eventuality. Here, we argue that limited-control predicates differ from both stative and dynamic predicates, and constitute a category of their own. Limited-control marking primarily pertains to agentivity and not to aspectual structure, and, importantly, is only used when control is at issue. With respect to the frequent overlaps with stative morphology, we argue that historically speaking, limited-control and stative marking have a common origin. While the current investigation does not include a full account of the historical developments leading to two synchronically separate categories (stative and limited control), we provide evidence for the hypothesis that perception predicates had a major role to play in this development.

Despite early interest Predicate Invention has lately been under-explored within ILP. We develop a framework in which predicate invention and recursive generalisations are implemented using abduction with respect to a meta-interpreter. The approach is based on a previously unexplored case of Inverse Entailment for Grammatical Inference of Regular languages. Every abduced grammar H is represented by a conjunction of existentially quantified atomic formulae. Thus ¬ H is a universally quantified clause representing a denial. The hypothesis space of solutions for ¬ H can be ordered by θ -subsumption. We show that the representation can be mapped to a fragment of Higher-Order Datalog in which atomic formulae in H are projections of first-order definite clause grammar rules and the existentially quantified variables are projections of first-order predicate symbols. This allows predicate invention to be effected by the introduction of first-order variables. Previous work by Inoue and Furukawa used abduction and meta-level reasoning to invent predicates representing propositions. By contrast, the present paper uses abduction with a meta-interpretive framework to invent relations. We describe the implementations of Meta-interpretive Learning (MIL) using two different declarative representations: Prolog and Answer Set Programming (ASP). We compare these implementations against a state-of-the-art ILP system MC-TopLog using the dataset of learning Regular and Context-Free grammars as well learning a simplified natural language grammar and a grammatical description of a staircase. Experiments indicate that on randomly chosen grammars, the two implementations have significantly higher accuracies than MC-TopLog. In terms of running time, Metagol is overall fastest in these tasks. Experiments indicate that the Prolog implementation is competitive with the ASP one due to its ability to encode a strong procedural bias. We demonstrate that MIL can be applied to learning natural grammars. In this case experiments indicate that increasing the available background knowledge, reduces the running time. Additionally ASP M (ASP using a meta-interpreter) is shown to have a speed advantage over Metagol when background knowledge is sparse. We also demonstrate that by combining Metagol R (Metagol with a Regular grammar meta-interpreter) and Metagol CF (Context-Free meta-interpreter) we can formulate a system, Metagol RCF , which can change representation by firstly assuming the target to be Regular, and then failing this, switch to assuming it to be Context-Free. Metagol RCF runs up to 100 times faster than Metagol CF on grammars chosen randomly from Regular and non-Regular Context-Free grammars.

This paper aims to explore the relationship between the necessity predicate and the truth predicate by comparing two possible-world interpretations. The first interpretation, proposed by Halbach et al. (J Philos Log 32(2):179–223, 2003), is for the necessity predicate, and the second, proposed by Hsiung (Stud Log 91(2):239–271, 2009), is for the truth predicate. To achieve this goal, we examine the connections and differences between paradoxical sentences that involve either the necessity predicate or the truth predicate. A primary connection is established through two translations that change only one of the predicates to the other while keeping everything else unchanged. We prove that in bijective frames, a set of sentences that contains one of the two semantic predicates has the same paradoxicality as the corresponding set of sentences that contains the other predicate obtained through translation. However, there are substantial differences as well. First, the necessity predicate and the truth predicate, under the two interpretations, cannot be defined by each other. Moreover, for sentences that involve only the truth predicate, their paradoxicality is preserved under the homomorphisms of frames. For sentences containing the necessity predicate, their paradoxicality is preserved under bounded morphisms, but none of these sentences can have their paradoxicality preserved under the extension of frames. Finally, we also show that paradoxical sentences involving the necessity predicate and those involving the truth predicate differ significantly in terms of mirror symmetry, circularity dependence, and frame compactness.

This paper presents and defends a way to add a transparent truth predicate to classical logic, such that T and A are everywhere intersubstitutable, where all T-biconditionals hold, and where truth can be made compositional. A key feature of our framework, called STTT (for Strict-Tolerant Transparent Truth), is that it supports a non-transitive relation of consequence. At the same time, it can be seen that the only failures of transitivity STTT allows for arise in paradoxical cases.

In artificial intelligence problems, connected with the study of complex structured objects which are described in the terms of properties of their elements and relationships between these elements, it is convenient to use predicate calculus formulas, more precisely elementary conjunctions of atomic predicate formulas. In such a case, the problem of extraction common properties of objects arises. The common properties of complex structured objects are set by formulas with variables as arguments, which, up to the names of the arguments, coincide with the subformulas of the objects under study, that is, are isomorphic to these subformulas. Previously, the authors developed algorithms for checking such formulas for isomorphism, as well as for extraction the maximal common subformula of two elementary conjunctions of predicate formulas with a single predicate symbol. Two algorithms, the first of which solves this problem for elementary conjunctions containing two predicate symbols, and the second for an arbitrary number of predicate symbols are proposed in this paper using the last-mentioned algorithm. Estimates of the computational complexity of the presented algorithms are proved. The algorithm is implemented in Python.

This article studies the function of Copular Predicate Constructions in everyday English conversation. We compare predicate adjective constructions (PA) and constructions with a predicate nominal containing an adjective (PAN). We ask whether the attributive function of the adjective or the presence of a noun in the PAN leads to a difference in function in the two constructions. We propose that in most cases the adjective determines the function of the construction, leading to many parallels in usage between the PA and PAN constructions. A comparison with predicate nominal constructions (PN), in contrast, shows that not including an adjective in the constructions leads to a different set of meanings and implications. The conversational usage of these constructions provides evidence for a partial correspondence of form to function: Copular Predicate Constructions often constitute a complete turn in conversation, and if not a full turn, form their own prosodic units. Other properties of these constructions—the definiteness of the NP and the presence or absence of a N—correspond to different interactional work. A comparison of all three constructions shows that the adjective plays a determining interactional role, despite differences in syntactic configuration.

In Late Vedic and Classical Sanskrit, a periphrastic construction consisting of a desemanticized motion or position verb and a participle is used to express a continuous, habitual or iterative action. Since in Early Vedic the finite verb still retains its lexical meaning, the grammaticalization must have taken place in post-Rigvedic times. Still, there are some ambiguous sentences in the Rigveda where interpretation as motion event and as continuous etc. event appear equally plausible and which are possible bridging contexts for the later reanalysis as a periphrasis. This paper focuses on the start of the development and re-evaluates the Rigvedic data. Two factors that have not been considered yet seem to have played a decisive role in the grammaticalization process: (1) the synchronic function of the participle as secondary predicate, a participant-oriented adjunct that overlaps temporally with the time frame set by the finite verb, and (2) the usage of motion verbs in non-directional contexts, i.e. in sentences without overt complements. Both factors are fundamental for the interpretational switch from motion to non-motion event, which is a prerequisite for the rise of the later periphrastic construction.