Semantic parameterization
Semantic parameterization is a conceptual modeling process developed by Travis Breaux for expressing natural language descriptions of a domain in first-order predicate logic.[1] The process yields a formalization of natural language sentences in Description Logic to answer the who, what and where questions in the Inquiry-Cycle Model (ICM) developed by Colin Potts and his colleagues at the Georgia Institute of Technology.[2] The parameterization process complements the Knowledge Acquisition and autOmated Specification (KAOS) method[3], which formalizes answers to the when, why and how ICM questions in Temporal Logic, to complete the ICM formalization. The artifacts used in the parameterization process include a dictionary that aligns the domain lexicon with unique concepts, distinguishing between synonyms and polysemes, and several natural language patterns that aid in mapping common domain descriptions to formal specifications.
Relationship to other theories
Semantic Parameterization defines a meta-model consisting of eight roles that are domain-independent and reusable. Seven of these roles correspond to Jeffrey Gruber's thematic relations[4] and case roles in Charles Fillmore's case grammar[5]:
| Breaux's Meta-model | Fillmore's Case Roles | Thematic Relations |
|---|---|---|
| Subject | Agentive | Agent |
| Action | ||
| Object | Objective/ Factitive | Theme/ Patient |
| Target | Dative | Goal |
| Source | Source | Source |
| Instrument | Instrumental | Instrument |
| Purpose | Purposive | |
| Location | Locative | Location |
| Comitative | Accompaniment |
References
- ^ T.D. Breaux, A.I. Anton, J. Doyle, "Semantic parameterization: a process for modeling domain descriptions", (In Press) ACM Transactions on Software Engineering Methodology, 2009.
- ^ C. Potts, K. Takahashi, and A.I. Anton, "Inquiry-based requirements analysis", IEEE Software 11(2): 21–32, 1994.
- ^ A. Dardenne, A. van Lamsweerde and S. Fickas, "Goal-Directed Requirements Acquisition", Science of Computer Programming v. 20, North Holland, 1993, pp. 3-50.
- ^ J. Gruber, Lexical Structures in Syntax and Semantics, North Holland, New York, 1976.
- ^ C. Fillmore, "The Case for Case", Universals in Linguistic Theory, Holt, Rhinehart and Winston, New York, 1968.