# On the Quantum-like Contextuality of Ambiguous Phrases

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2107.14589 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2107.14589/

## Key facts

- Cited by 6 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 5 of its 33 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 19 Jul 2021.

## Builds on (most cited first, 5 of 5)

- [Quantum Natural Language Processing on Near-Term Quantum Computers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.04147/) (2020)
- [Open System Categorical Quantum Semantics in Natural Language Processing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1502.00831/) (2015)
- [A probabilistic framework for analysing the compositionality of conceptual combinations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1305.5753/) (2013)
- [Is there contextuality in behavioral and social systems?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1504.07422/) (2015)
- [Contextuality, Cohomology and Paradox](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1502.03097/) (2015)

## Built on by (most cited first, 6 of 6)

- [Generalised Winograd Schema and its Contextuality](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.16498/) (2023)
- [Quantum-Like Contextuality in Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.16806/) (2024)
- [A Model of Anaphoric Ambiguities using Sheaf Theoretic Quantum-like Contextuality and BERT](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2208.05720/) (2022)
- [The Causal Structure of Semantic Ambiguities](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.06807/) (2022)
- [Developments in Sheaf-Theoretic Models of Natural Language Ambiguities](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.04505/) (2024)
- [A Quantum-Inspired Analysis of Human Disambiguation Processes](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.07402/) (2024)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Language is contextual as meanings of words are dependent on their contexts. Contextuality is, concomitantly, a well-defined concept in quantum mechanics where it is considered a major resource for quantum computations. We investigate whether natural language exhibits any of the quantum mechanics' contextual features. We show that meaning combinations in ambiguous phrases can be modelled in the sheaf-theoretic framework for quantum contextuality, where they can become possibilistically contextual. Using the framework of Contextuality-by-Default (CbD), we explore the probabilistic variants of these and show that CbD-contextuality is also possible.