A Conceptual Reasoning Approach to Textual Ellipsis

Abstract

We present a hybrid text understanding methodology for the resolution of textual ellipsis. It integrates conceptual criteria (based on the well-formedness and conceptual strength of role chains in a terminological knowledge base) and functional constraints reflecting the utterances' information structure (based on the distinction between context-bound and unbound discourse elements). The methodological framework for text ellipsis resolution is the centering model that has been adapted to these constraints.