meaningprecedence

Meaningprecedence is a principle used in semantics and natural language processing to interpret ambiguous expressions by privileging interpretations that align with semantic plausibility, world knowledge, and discourse context over interpretations based solely on syntax. While not a standardized term across all linguistic traditions, meaningprecedence describes a common approach: when multiple readings are possible, the system or reader favors the meaning that makes the most coherent or plausible overall interpretation given background information.

In humans, meaning precedence arises from pragmatic reasoning and stored knowledge about how the world works. In computational settings, it is implemented through probabilistic models, selectional preferences, and coherence-based scoring that integrate lexical semantics, discourse context, and prior expectations. Mechanisms include evaluating the plausibility of thematic roles, checking verb-argument compatibility, and applying contextual priors to resolve ambiguity.

Applications of meaningprecedence appear in diverse language technologies and analyses. In machine translation, it helps choose translations that preserve intended sense when multiple equivalents exist. In semantic role labeling and coreference resolution, it guides the assignment of roles or antecedents to the most plausible interpretation. In dialogue systems and question-answering, it improves accuracy by favoring readings that fit the current conversation and common-sense knowledge.

Examples illustrate the idea. A sentence like "The chef visited the kitchen with a bucket of water" can be interpreted as the chef carrying a bucket or the kitchen containing a bucket; a meaning-precedence approach would weigh which interpretation is more coherent given the broader context. Another case is syntactic ambiguity resolved by favoring the sense that aligns with discourse goals or user intent.

Limitations include potential bias toward common-sense assumptions, difficulties with figurative language, and reliance on accurate world knowledge. Relationships to related concepts include semantic plausibility, pragmatic inference, and disambiguation strategies. See also: semantic ambiguity, disambiguation, pragmatics, plausibility.