Whether its symbolic or NN based or some other representation, the main thing people are missing here is the lack of symbol grounding. That is why we the open 3d environments based on virtual senses and motor outputs are the most likely to ultimately move forward in terms of things like NLP. See http://courses.media.mit.edu/2004spring/mas966/Harnad%20symb... or http://www.goertzel.org/papers/PostEmbodiedAI_June7.htm