Definite Descriptions, Focus Shift, and a Theory of Discourse Interpretation

The model of definite description interpretation in [Poesio, 1993] is revised to avoid the previous theory’s assumption that the interpretation of definites occurs after scope interpretation has taken place. The processes involved in the interpretation of a definite are formalized as DRS construction rules applying in parallel to generate alternative hypotheses out of underspecified representations. Interpreting a definite requires identifying the particular situation, or discourse topic, that includes an object of that type. ‘Focus’ effects are formulated in terms of situations and their hierarchical organization. 1 Ingredients of a Theory of Definite Description Interpretation A theory of definite description (DD) interpretation must build on a general theory of discourse interpretation, i.e., a theory of how hypotheses about the intended meaning of an utterance are arrived at, and must include: 1. A theory of the semantics of definite descriptions, i.e., of what DDs mean, and what part of their interpretation has to be recovered in context; and 2. A theory of the pragmatics of definite descriptions, i.e., how the contextually dependent aspects of the meaning of DDs are recovered in a discourse situation. An aspect of the discourse situation that has been observed to play an especially important role in the interpretation of DDs is the attentional state of the conversational participants [Grosz and Sidner, 1986], i.e., on what subset of their shared knowledge they are focusing on.