Anaphora Resolution: A Multi-Strategy Approach

Anaphora resolution has proven to be a very difficult problem; it requires the integrated application of syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic knowledge. This paper examines the hypothesis that instead of attempting to construct a monolithic method for resolving anaphora, the combination of multiple strategies, each exploiting a different knowledge source, proves more effective, theoretically and computationally. Cognitive plausibility is established in that human judgements of the optimal anaphoric referent accord with those of the strategy-based method, and human inability to determine a unique referent corresponds to the cases where different strategies offer conflicting candidates for the anaphoric referent.