The Correct and Efficient Implementation of Appropriateness Specifications for Typed Feature Structures

In this paper, we argue that type inferencing incorrectly implements appropriateness specifications for typed feature structures, promote a combination of type resolution and unfilling as a correct and efficient alternative, and consider the expressive limits of this alternative approach. Throughout, we use feature cooccurence restrictions as illustration and linguistic motivation.

Typed Feature Structures as Descriptions

A description is an entity that can be interpreted as true or false of an object, and using feature structures as descriptions accrues several computational benefits. In this paper, I create an explicit interpretation of a typed feature structure used as a description, define the notion of a satisfiable feature structure, and create a simple and effective algorithm to decide if a feature structure is satisfiable.