In this paper we propose a non-clausal representational formalism (of definite formulas) that retains the syntactic flavor and algorithmic advantages of Horn clauses. The notion of a definite formula is generic in the sense that it is available to any logical calculus. We argue that efficient automated reasoning techniques which utilize definite formula representation of knowledge (such as SLD-...

abstractsince heubner's (1985) pioneering study, there have been many studies on (mis) use/ non-use of articles by l2 learners from article-less and article languages the present study investigated how persian l2 learners of english produce and interpret english definite descriptions and demonstrative descriptions it was assumed that definite and demonstrative descriptions share the same centra...

This paper investigates the semantics of kind-referring expressions and of generic quantification in Brazilian Portuguese (BP). It may thus be taken as a contribution to the development of a more accurate understanding of genericity as a crosslinguistic phenomenon. In BP genericity may be expressed by both definite singular (1) and definite plural (2) nominals, and also by indefinite nominals s...

To express the same meaning, Romance languages (here and elsewhere, I exemplify with Italian), standardly use noun phrases with a definite article: the plural definite with count nouns and the singular definite with mass nouns (sing. il/la/lo/l’, plur. i/gli/le) (2). A singular definite article with count nouns is also possible (3), with the same restrictions as in English (see e.g. Lawler 1973...