LINGUISTIC VARIABLE MODIFIER

Dr. Zaheeruddin
Professor
Department of Electrical Engineering
Faculty of Engineering & Technology
Jamia Millia Islamia (A Central University)
New Delhi, India

Email: zaheeruddin@jmi.ac.in
Mobile: 9910170032
 Linguistic Variable Modifier (Hedges)

l A modifier may be used to further enhance the ability to

describe our fuzzy concepts.
l Modifiers (very, slightly, etc.) used in phrases such as
very hot or slightly cold change (modify) the shape of a
fuzzy set in a way that suits the meaning of the word
used. These modifiers are commonly referred to as
hedges.
l Hedges are modifiers of fuzzy set membership functions.
l These modifiers change the shape of a fuzzy set using
mathematical operations on each point of the set.
 Hedges
l Act like adjectives and adverbs in English, such as "very"
or "often“
l Allow a closer and more intuitive modelling of the
underlying knowledge as expressed in language
l Defining hedges can be a subjective process and may
vary from one problem domain to another
l Modifiers (hedges) are words like "extremely", "very"
which changes the predicate. For example,
"It is cold today" becomes "It is very cold today".
Some possible implementations of modifiers are: very,
almost, about, somewhat, more or less, roughly, rather,
quite, not, positively, etc.
 Linguistic Modifiers
l Linguistic Modifiers (or hedges) are unary operators
which alter a fuzzy set membership function
l Different modifiers are grouped in families on the basis
of the kind of alteration they represent
l Concentrator and Dilators
l Contrast intensifiers/dilators
l Approximation
l Restriction
l Each family is defined on the terms of axioms that the
modified set must satisfy
 Concentrators/ Dilators
l CONcentration and DILution – transform original membership
function µ(x) ® µn(x),
l If n > 1 (concentration) è increases membership
l If n < 1 (dilation) è decreases membership
l “very”, “extremely” (concentrators)
l “quite”, “a little” (dilators)
 Fuzzy Set Hedges (Examples)
l Membership “very” of variable x = (membership of variable x)2

l If income is low to a degree of 0.8, then income will be very

low to a degree of (0.8)2= 0.64.

l Membership “more or less” of variable x

= Ö(membership of variable x)

l Hedges reduce the number of fuzzy sets that need to be

created

l Hedges also increase the readability of rules and

consequently ease maintenance.
 Linguistic Variable Modifier: Example
Suppose the primary terms are young and old, whose
meaning might be defined by their respective compatibility
functions µ young and µ old. From these, then, the meaning -
or, equivalently, the compatibility functions - of the non-
primary terms may be computed by the application of a
semantic rule.
µvery young = (µyoung)2
µmore or less old = (µold)1/2
µnot very young = 1- (µyoung)2
 Fuzzy modifier (hedge)
A new term can be obtained when we add a
modifier “very” to a primary term
µvery young(x) = (µyoung(x))2
µ

young
0.5 very young

u
0
25 50 75 100
base
variable
 LINGUISTIC VARIABLES
Example: Age
primary terms: young, middle-aged, old
modifiers: not, very, quite, rather, …
linguistic values: young, very young, not very young, and
not very old, …
µ

young middle-aged old

1

very old

0
Age
 Fuzzy modifier (hedge)

An example of a fuzzy linguistic variable

and membership functions
 HEDGES
The membership of Fast can be altered by VERY fast by
an exponential operator like the one indicated in the
figure :

1
Membership
Degree of

Fast

VERY Fast

0
Speed
80 Km/h 120 Km/h
 Linguistic Variable Modifiers
Examples: VERY (µ2(x)), EXTREMELY (µ3(x)),
SOMEWHAT, MORE_OR_LESS (µ0.5(x))

µ (tem perature)
cold

1
not co ld
cold
so mewhat
very cold cold

temperature

 Concentrators/ Dilators

l “very”, “extremely” (concentrators)

l “quite”, “a little” (dilators)

Little Very
 Contrast intensifier and dilators

l Used to transform a fuzzy set into a “crispier”

(intensifiers) or a less crisp one (dilators)
l Contrast Intensifiers:
l The entropy of the modified set must be lower than
the original set's entropy
l values higher than 0.5 are reduced, while values
lower than 0.5 are augmented
l Linguistic terms:
l Surely, absolutely (for contrast intensifiers)
l Usually, generally (for contrast dilators)
 Linguistic Variable Modifiers

ì n
l INTensify – µint(x) = ï n µ ( x ); x ÎAa
í n
î1- nµ ( x ); x Ï Aa
ï

Aa = {x| µ(x) £ a} is the a-cut of µ(x).

l For example, let n = 2, a = 0.5. The fuzzy sets Tall and
POSITIVELY Tall are illustrated below:

positively tall
1

tall
0.5
 Intensify
The INTENSIFY modifier returns the expanded Fuzzy
Value passed as its argument, having performed the
following modifications on it:
if (0.0 <= y <= 0.5), y = 2*y2
if (0.5 < y <= 1.0), y = 1 - 2*(1-y)2
l This has the effect of emphasizing the sections of the
FuzzyValue that have a membership value greater than
0.5, and understating any sections of the FuzzyValue
with a membership value less than or equal to 0.5.
 Approximation modifiers

l They transform a single element into a symmetric set centred

on the element (e.g. “about 170 cm tall”), or enlarge the
support of a fuzzy set
l They lack a formal semantic about the effects of this modifier
l Their opposite modifier (“exactly”) doesn't exists in standard
fuzzy logic theory
 Linguistic Variable Modifiers
l AROUND, ABOUT, APPROXIMATE – Broaden µ(x).
l BELOW, ABOVE

below tall tall above tall

tall
1 1

0.5 0.5
about tall

tall tall
 Restriction modifiers
l “More than”, “higher than”, “less than”
l Restriction modifiers lack a formal definition about their
effects
l Generally, those modifiers aren't implemented in
applications nor used in theoretical researches
l Needs a deeper study about the perceived semantics
of phrases like “more than good”
 Unmodified Fuzzy Set
This FuzzyValue has not yet been modified. It will be
the FuzzyValue to which the modifiers are applied for all
of the following examples except 'norm'.
 Not
The NOT modifier returns the complement of the
FuzzyValue passed as its argument: y(x) = 1 - y(x)
 Very
The VERY modifier returns the expanded FuzzyValue
passed as its argument, having raised all the membership
values of the FuzzyValue by a factor of 2.
 Norm
The NORM modifier returns the normalized FuzzyValue.
Normalizing the FuzzyValue refers to scaling it so that at
least one point on the FuzzyValue has a membership value
of 1.0.
Before Normalization After Normalization
 More or Less
The MORE_OR_LESS modifier returns the expanded
FuzzyValue passed as its argument, having raised all the
membership values of the FuzzyValue by a factor of 1/3.
 Somewhat
The SOMEWHAT modifier returns the expanded Fuzzy
Value passed as its argument, having raised all the
membership values of the Fuzzy Value by a factor of 1/2.
 Plus
The PLUS modifier returns the expanded Fuzzy Value
passed as its argument, having raised all the membership
values of the Fuzzy Value by a factor of 1.25.
 Extremely
The EXTREMELY modifier returns the expanded
FuzzyValue passed as its argument, having raised all the
membership values of the FuzzyValue by a factor of 3.
 Slightly
The SLIGHTLY modifier returns the expanded FuzzyValue A
passed as its argument, having performed the following
modifications on it: intensify [ norm (plus A AND not very A) ]

l Consider the partial breakdown, shown below, of this

example. On the left, directly below, is shown this
FuzzyValue after applying the plus modifier. On the right
is this FuzzyValue after applying both the not and the
very modifiers. Below these is depicted plus FuzzyValue
AND not very FuzzyValue, showing the portion of the
FuzzyValue that is selected which intuitively matches our
linguistic understanding of the word "slightly".
 PLUS NOT VERY

Now, put them together. Intensify( PLUS FuzzyValue AND NOT

VERY FuzzyValue )
 Above
The ABOVE modifier identifies the first x value at which the
maximum value is reached. All membership values below
this point are set to zero and all membership values above
this value are set to 1-y. For convex fuzzy sets this gives an
intuitive result.
 Below
The BELOW modifier identifies the first x value at which
the maximum value is reached. All membership values
above this point are set to zero and all membership
values below this value are set to 1-y. For convex fuzzy
sets this gives an intuitive result.
 Linguistic Variable Modifiers
l Examples: VERY (µ2(x)), EXTREMELY (µ3(x)),
SOMEWHAT, MORE_OR_LESS (µ0.5(x))

µ (temperature)
cold

1
not cold
cold
somewhat
ve ry cold cold

temperature
 Linguistic Variable Modifiers
ìï n µ n ( x ); x ÎAa
l INTensify – µint(x) = í
ïî1- nµ n ( x ); x Ï Aa
Aa = {x| µ(x) £ a} is the a-cut of µ(x).
l For example, let n = 2, a = 0.5. The fuzzy sets Tall and
POSITIVELY Tall are illustrated below:

positively tall
1

tall
0.5
 Linguistic Variable Modifiers
l AROUND, ABOUT, APPROXIMATE – Broaden µ(x).
l BELOW, ABOVE – (see illustration below)

below tall tall above tall tall

1 1

0.5 0.5
about tall

tall tall
Operations on Linguistic Values

Concentration: CON ( A) = A2

Dilation: DIL( A) = A0.5

Contrast ì 2 A2 , 0 £ µ A ( x ) £ 0.5
INT ( A) = í
intensification: î ¬ 2( ¬ A ) 2
, 0.5 £ µ A ( x ) £ 1

intensif.m
 Concentration & dilation of linguistic values

l Let A be a linguistic value described by a fuzzy set with

membership function µA(.)
A k = ò [µ A ( x)]k / x
X
l A2 = CON(A) is called the concentration operation

l ÖA = DIL(A) is called the dilation operation

l CON(A) & DIL(A) are useful in expression the hedges such as

“very” & “more or less” in the linguistic term A

l Other definitions for linguistic hedges are also possible

 Composite linguistic terms

§ Let’s define:
NOT( A ) = ¬A = ò [1 - µ A ( x )] / x,
X

A and B = A Ç B = ò [µ A ( x ) Ù µ B ( x )] / x
X

A or B = A È B = ò [µ A ( x ) Ú µ B ( x )] / x
X

where A, B are two linguistic values whose semantics

are respectively defined by µA(.) & µB(.)

Composite linguistic terms such as: “not very young”,

“not very old” & “young but not too young” can be easily
characterized
 Example: Construction of MFs for
composite linguistic terms
§ Let’s
1
µ young ( x ) = bell( x,20,2,0) = 4
æ x ö
1+ ç ÷
è 20 ø
1
µ old ( x ) = bell( x,30,3,100) = 6
æ x - 100 ö
1+ ç ÷
è 30 ø
Where x is the age of a person in the universe of
discourse [0, 100]
1
ò
More or less = DIL(old) = Öold = X 6
/x
æ x - 100 ö
1+ ç ÷
è 30 ø
 Example: Construction of MFs for
composite linguistic terms
§ Not young and not old = ¬young Ç ¬old =
é ù é ù
ê ú ê ú
1 1
ò êê1 - ú Ù ê1 -
4ú ê
ú/x
æ x - 100 ö ú
6
X æ x ö
ê 1 + ç ÷ ú ê 1 + ç ÷ ú
ë è 20 ø û ë è 30 ø û
§ Young but not too young = young Ç ¬young2 (too =
very) = é ù é æ ö ù
2

ê ú ê ç ÷ ú
1 ú Ù 1-ç
ê 1 ÷ ú
ò êê ê ç ÷ ú/x
æ x ö ú ê
4 4
x ç æ x ö ÷÷ ú
ê 1 + ç ÷ ú ç 1 + ç ÷
ë è 20 ø û êë è è 20 ø ø úû

8
é ù
§ Extremely old º very very very old ê
1
ú
ò êê ú /x
= CON (CON(CON(old))) = x æ x - 100 ö
ê1 + ç
6ú
÷ ú
ë è 30 ø û
Linguistic Values (Terms)
l Contrast intensification: the operation of contrast
intensification on a linguistic value A is defined by
ìï2A 2 if 0 £ µ A ( x) £ 0.5
INT( A ) = í
ïî¬2(¬A ) 2 if 0.5 £ µ A ( x) £ 1

l INT increases the values of µA(x) which are greater

than 0.5 & decreases those which are less than or equal
to 0.5

l Contrast intensification has effect of reducing the

fuzziness of the linguistic value A
 EXAMPLE
X = (Age, T(Age), U, G, M)
Age: name of the variable X
T(Age): {young, very young, very very young, …}
U: [0,100] universe of discourse
G(Age): Ti+1 = {young} È {very Ti}
M(young) = {(u, µyoung(u)) | u Î [0,100]}

ì1 if u Î [0,25]
ï
µ young (u ) = íæ u - 25 ö -2
ïç1 + ÷ if u Î [25,100]
îè 5 ø
l Concentration & dilation of linguistic values
l Let A be a linguistic value described by a fuzzy
set with membership function µA(.)

A = ò [µ A ( x)] / x
k k

X
is a modified version of the original linguistic
value.
l A2 = CON(A) is called the concentration
operation
l ÖA = DIL(A) is called the dilation operation
l CON(A) & DIL(A) are useful in expression the
hedges such as “very” & “more or less” in the
linguistic term A
l Other definitions for linguistic hedges are also
possible
l Composite linguistic terms
NOT( A ) = ¬A = ò [1 - µ A ( x )] / x,
Let’s define: X

A and B = A Ç B = ò [µ A ( x ) Ù µ B ( x )] / x
X

A or B = A È B = ò [µ A ( x ) Ú µ B ( x )] / x
X

where A, B are two linguistic values whose semantics

are respectively defined by
µA(.) & µB(.)
Composite linguistic terms such as: “not very young”,
“not very old” & “young but not too young” can be
easily characterized
 1
µ (...) ( x ) = bell( x, s , k , µ ) =
2k
æx-µö
l Example: Construction of MFs for composite ç
1 + ÷
è s ø
linguistic terms. Let’s define
1
µ young ( x ) = bell( x,20,2,0) = 4
æ x ö
1+ ç ÷
è 20 ø
1
µ old ( x ) = bell( x,30,3,100) = 6
æ x - 100 ö
1+ ç ÷
è 30 ø
Where x is the age of a person in the universe of
discourse [0,100]
1
More or less = DIL(old) = Öold = ò 6
/x
X æ x - 100 ö
1+ ç ÷
è 30 ø
l Not young and not old = ¬young Ç ¬old =
é ù é ù
ê ú ê ú
1 1
ò êê1 - ú Ù ê1 -
4ú ê
ú/x
6ú
X æ xö æ x - 100 ö
ê 1+ ç ÷ ú ê 1+ ç ÷ ú
ë è ø û ë
20 è 30 ø û
l Young but not too young = young Ç ¬young2 (too =
very) = é ù é æ ö ù
2

ê ú ê ç ÷ ú
ê 1 ú Ù ê1 - ç 1 ÷ ú
òê 4ú ê ç 4÷ ú
/x
æ xö æ xö
ê1 + ç ÷ ú ê çç 1 + ç ÷ ÷÷ ú
x
ë è 20 ø û êë è è 20 ø ø úû

old º very very very old = CON

l Extremely
(CON(CON(old))) = é ù
8

ê ú
1
ò êê x - 100 6 úú / x
x æ ö
ê1 + ç ÷ ú
ë è 30 ø û
l Contrast intensification
the operation of contrast intensification on a
linguistic value A is defined by
ì
ï 2 A 2
if 0 £ µ A ( x) £ 0.5
INT( A ) = í
ï
î¬ 2( ¬ A ) 2
if 0.5 £ µ A ( x) £ 1
l INT increases the values of µA(x) which are greater
than 0.5 & decreases those which are less or equal
that 0.5

l Contrast intensification has effect of reducing the

fuzziness of the linguistic value A