[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/papers/aclbulk-2007-copestake-semantic-composition-robust-minimal-recursion/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [docs](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/) / [papers](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/papers/) / [English](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/papers/en/) / Semantic Composition with (Robust) Minimal Recursion Semantics # Semantic Composition with (Robust) Minimal Recursion Semantics **Authors:** [Ann Copestake](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/papers/authors/ann-copestake/) · **Year:** 2007 · **Venue:** Proceedings of the ACL 2007 Workshop on Deep Linguistic Processing **Link:** [aclanthology.org/W07-1210](https://aclanthology.org/W07-1210/) · **Licence:** [CC BY-NC-SA 3.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/) — summary only [**40** citations](https://openalex.org/works?filter=cites:W1991626023) openalex · 2026-10-19[**23** citations in our library](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/papers/cited-by/aclbulk-2007-copestake-semantic-composition-robust-minimal-recursion/) of the 140673 papers whose bibliographies we read[ACL 2007 Workshop on Deep Linguistic Processing](https://aclanthology.org/volumes/W07-12/)[licence](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/) - [Publisher's page](https://aclanthology.org/W07-1210/) - [PDF](https://aclanthology.org/W07-1210.pdf) - [DOI 10.3115/1608912.1608925](https://doi.org/10.3115/1608912.1608925) - [OpenAlex](https://openalex.org/W1991626023) **Authors (1)** 1. [Copestake, Ann](https://openalex.org/A5012396877) [ORCID](https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0347-946X) · [Semantic Scholar](https://www.semanticscholar.org/author/15379653) · h 34 · 6049 citations · 192 works Citations and author metrics from openalex (2026-10-19); authors with the same name are not always told apart. ## What it is about The paper looks at semantic composition in Minimal Recursion Semantics (MRS) and in its robust variant (RMRS), which suits shallow analysers. It shows that an earlier algebra for composition applies to grammars with no full lexicon, and it implements the algebra for the RASP parser. Each grammar rule carries a composition rule that fills holes and equates variables. If a tree uses a rule with no composition rule, its relations are simply appended, so composition is robust to gaps in the semantic component. The paper reports no case where the algebra blocks a composition that the English Resource Grammar produces. It gives no coverage figures. ## Ideas - I1. `en/src/expert.rs`: attach a small composition step to each expert rule. Rules without one append their relations by default. Count the EWT test trees that use a rule without a composition step. - I2. `world/src/frames.rs`: build frames from `en` trees with the same append-by-default fallback. Hand-check 50 sentences of our own text and report the share of frames with an appended, unexplained relation. - I3. Order check: compose the frames of each tree in a fixed bottom-up order and in a shuffled sibling order. The outputs must match. Negative control: a broken composition rule must fail this check. ## For Mova The code is `en/src/expert.rs` and `world/src/frames.rs`; the chapter is [21. The simple clause](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/languages/en/21-clause-structure/). The paper has no numbers, and its formalism (MRS, RASP, ERG) is not Mova's. Measure on EWT only. ## Cite The paper itself, not this card. BibTeX from the library's record of the work. [DOI 10.3115/1608912.1608925](https://doi.org/10.3115/1608912.1608925) ``` @inproceedings{copestake2007semantic, title = {{Semantic Composition with (Robust) Minimal Recursion Semantics}}, author = {Copestake, Ann}, booktitle = {ACL 2007 Workshop on Deep Linguistic Processing}, year = {2007}, doi = {10.3115/1608912.1608925}, url = {https://doi.org/10.3115/1608912.1608925} } ``` - [← previous Formalism-Independent Parser Evaluation with CCG and DepBank](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/papers/aclbulk-2007-clark-formalism-independent-parser-evaluation-ccg/) - [next → Frustratingly Hard Domain Adaptation for Dependency Parsing](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/papers/aclbulk-2007-dredze-frustratingly-hard-domain-adaptation-dependency/) - [↑ back to English](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/papers/en/) ## References 15 references, 2 of them with a card of ours. ↗ leads to the work, «find» searches for one we have no id for yet. 1. Johan Bos, Stephen Clark, Mark Steedman, James R. Curran and Julia Hockenmaier 2004. Wide-Coverage Semantic Representations from a CCG Parser. COL-ING ’04, Geneva. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Johan+Bos%2C+Stephen+Clark%2C+Mark+Steedman%2C+James+R%2E+Curran+and+Julia+Hockenmaier+2004%2E+Wide%2DCoverage+Semantic+Representations+from+a+CCG+Parser%2E+COL%2DING+%E2%80%9904%2C+Geneva%2E) 2. Johan Bos. 2005. Towards Wide-Coverage Semantic Interpretation. Sixth International Workshop on Computational Semantics IWCS-6. 42–53. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Johan+Bos%2E+2005%2E+Towards+Wide%2DCoverage+Semantic+Interpretation%2E+Sixth+International+Workshop+on+Computational+Semantics+IWCS%2D6%2E+42%E2%80%9353%2E) 3. Ted Briscoe and John Carroll. 2002. Robust accurate statistical annotation of general text. LREC-2002, Las Palmas, Gran Canaria. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Ted+Briscoe+and+John+Carroll%2E+2002%2E+Robust+accurate+statistical+annotation+of+general+text%2E+LREC%2D2002%2C+Las+Palmas%2C+Gran+Canaria%2E) 4. Ann Copestake, Alex Lascarides, and Dan Flickinger. 2001. An Algebra for Semantic Construction in Constraint-based Grammars. ACL-01, Toulouse. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Ann+Copestake%2C+Alex+Lascarides%2C+and+Dan+Flickinger%2E+2001%2E+An+Algebra+for+Semantic+Construction+in+Constraint%2Dbased+Grammars%2E+ACL%2D01%2C+Toulouse%2E) [our card](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/papers/aclbulk-2001-copestake-algebra-semantic-construction-constraint-based/) 5. Ann Copestake. 2003. Report on the design of RMRS . DeepThought project deliverable. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Ann+Copestake%2E+2003%2E+Report+on+the+design+of+RMRS+%2E+DeepThought+project+deliverable%2E) 6. Ann Copestake, Dan Flickinger, Ivan Sag, and Carl Pollard. 2005. Minimal Recursion Semantics: An introduction. Research in Language and Computation 3(2–3), 281–332. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Ann+Copestake%2C+Dan+Flickinger%2C+Ivan+Sag%2C+and+Carl+Pollard%2E+2005%2E+Minimal+Recursion+Semantics%3A+An+introduction%2E+Research+in+Language+and+Computation+3%282%E2%80%933%29%2C+281%E2%80%93332%2E) 7. Dan Flickinger 2000. On building a more efficient grammar by exploiting types. Natural Language Engineering,6:1,15–28. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Dan+Flickinger+2000%2E+On+building+a+more+efficient+grammar+by+exploiting+types%2E+Natural+Language+Engineering%2C6%3A1%2C15%E2%80%9328%2E) [our card](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/papers/parsers-2000-flickinger-building-more-efficient-grammar/) 8. Ruth Fuchss, Alexander Koller, Joachim Niehren, and Stefan Thater 2004. Minimal Recursion Semantics as Dominance Constraints: Translation, Evaluation, and Analysis. Proceedings of the 42nd ACL, Barcelona. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Ruth+Fuchss%2C+Alexander+Koller%2C+Joachim+Niehren%2C+and+Stefan+Thater+2004%2E+Minimal+Recursion+Semantics+as+Dominance+Constraints%3A+Translation%2C+Evaluation%2C+and+Analysis%2E+Proceedings+of+the+42nd+ACL%2C+Barcel) 9. Gerald Gazdar, Ewan Klein, Geoffrey Pullum and Ivan Sag 1985. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Gerald+Gazdar%2C+Ewan+Klein%2C+Geoffrey+Pullum+and+Ivan+Sag+1985%2E) 10. Generalized Phrase Structure Grammar. Basil Blackwell, Oxford Petter Haugereid 2004. Linking in Constructions. HPSG2004, Leuven. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Generalized+Phrase+Structure+Grammar%2E+Basil+Blackwell%2C+Oxford+Petter+Haugereid+2004%2E+Linking+in+Constructions%2E+HPSG2004%2C+Leuven%2E) 11. Aurelie Herbelot and Ann Copestake 2006. Acquiring Ontological Relationships from Wikipedia Using RMRS . ISWC 2006 Workshop on Web Content Mining with Human Language Technologies, Athens, Georgia. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Aurelie+Herbelot+and+Ann+Copestake+2006%2E+Acquiring+Ontological+Relationships+from+Wikipedia+Using+RMRS+%2E+ISWC+2006+Workshop+on+Web+Content+Mining+with+Human+Language+Technologies%2C+Athens%2C+Georgia%2E) 12. Kathrin Spreyer and Anette Frank. 2005 Projecting RMRS from TIGER Dependencies. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Kathrin+Spreyer+and+Anette+Frank%2E+2005+Projecting+RMRS+from+TIGER+Dependencies%2E) 13. Hans Uszkoreit, Ulrich Callmeier, Andreas Eisele, Ulrich Schfer, Melanie Siegel, Jakob Uszkoreit. 2004. Hybrid Robust Deep and Shallow Semantic Processing for Creativity Support in Document Production. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Hans+Uszkoreit%2C+Ulrich+Callmeier%2C+Andreas+Eisele%2C+Ulrich+Schfer%2C+Melanie+Siegel%2C+Jakob+Uszkoreit%2E+2004%2E+Hybrid+Robust+Deep+and+Shallow+Semantic+Processing+for+Creativity+Support+in+Document+Production) 14. KONVENS 2004, Vienna, Austria, 209–216. 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