Collection of Referring Expressions for Location and Route Information Using Maps as Stimuli

Abstract

In this study, we constructed a database of expressions referring to both location and route information through crowdsourcing, and made it publicly available as open data. Twenty maps were used as stimuli, with 40 participants per map asked to describe the location of a target point, resulting in 800 referring expressions. For route information, two routes were defined on each map, and 40 participants per route were asked to describe the route between two points, yielding 1,600 referring expressions. Each expression was evaluated to determine whether it constituted a relative reference based on landmarks on the map. Location-referring expressions were categorized into four types: first-person perspective, within-space perspective, within-space movement, and bird’s-eye view. Route-referring expressions were labeled according to the presence of information about the starting point, waypoints, and the endpoint. Additionally, a survey was conducted to assess the comprehensibility of each expression, and the resulting data were collected accordingly.