Generating referring expressions: Boolean extensions of the Incremental Algorithm

Abstract

This paper brings a logical perspective to the generation of referring expressions, addressing the incompleteness of existing algorithms in this area. After studying references to individual objects, we discuss references to sets, including Boolean descriptions that make use of negated and disjoined properties. To guarantee that a distinguishing description is generated whenever such descriptions exist, the paper proposes generalizations and extensions of the Incremental Algorithm of Dale and Reiter (1995).