# Natural Language Semantics and Computability

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1605.04122 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1605.04122/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 13 May 2016.

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [Uncovering More Shallow Heuristics: Probing the Natural Language Inference Capacities of Transformer-Based Pre-Trained Language Models Using Syllogistic Patterns](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.07614/) (2022)

## Abstract (arXiv)

This paper is a reflexion on the computability of natural language semantics. It does not contain a new model or new results in the formal semantics of natural language: it is rather a computational analysis of the logical models and algorithms currently used in natural language semantics, defined as the mapping of a statement to logical formulas - formulas, because a statement can be ambiguous. We argue that as long as possible world semantics is left out, one can compute the semantic representation(s) of a given statement, including aspects of lexical meaning. We also discuss the algorithmic complexity of this process.