A linguistic analysis of deontic paradoxes can be used to further develop deontic logic. In this paper we provide a Beth-Reichenbach semantics to analyze deontic paradoxes, and we illustrate it on the single agent decision problem of the miners scenario. We also introduce extensions with reactive arrows and actions, which can be used to give a linguistic interpretation of multi-agent dialogues.

The notion of part of speech dates back at least to 5th century BC Sanskrit grammar (Matilal, 1990, ch.3) and is adopted in one form or another by most current linguistic theories. In spite of this, no objective definition for part of speech labels has ever been put forth (Croft, 1984, 2001; Langacker, 1987; Aarts, 2007). The present work explores the idea that parts of speech and their syntact...

The recent outburst of interest in cognitive developmental robotics is fueled by the ambition to propose ecologically plausible mechanisms of how, among other things, a learning agent/robot could ground linguistic meanings in its sensorimotor behavior. Along this stream, we propose a model that allows the simulated iCub robot to learn the meanings of actions (point, touch, and push) oriented to...

This paper examines the causes of frustration, and how speakers display their frustration in conversational arguments in terms of interactional organization, linguistic features, paralinguistic features, and embodied actions based on the method of discourse analysis. The expression of emotion is co-constructed by verbal cues, non-verbal vocal cues, and bodily behavior. The data presented here r...

Some studies have reported that understanding concrete action-related words and sentences elicits activations of motor areas in the brain. The present fMRI study goes one step further by testing whether this is also the case for comprehension of nonfactual statements. Three linguistic structures were used (factuals, counterfactuals, and negations), referring either to actions or, as a control c...

The observation of other people's actions recruits a network of areas including the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), the inferior parietal lobule (IPL), and posterior middle temporal gyrus (pMTG). These regions have been shown to be activated through both visual and auditory inputs. Intriguingly, previous studies found no engagement of IFG and IPL for deaf participants during non-linguistic action...