Articles

We present the first sizable grammar written for TAG. We present the linguistic coverage of our grammar, and explain the linguistic reasons which lead us to choose the particular representations. We show that TAG formal- ism provides sufficient constraints for handling most of the linguistic phenomena, with minimal linguistic stipula- …...

This paper describes some of the problems that arise from the synthesis of personal pronouns in a system tlrat generates texts in Romance languages. It puts the emphasis first on the fact that fire morphological level has to betaken hire account early in the generation process, second on the numerous …...

The paper presents the embedding of an original parsing strategy for Romanian,call- ed Segmentation-Cohesion-Dependency (SCD) , into Chomsk~'s well-known Government and Binding (BG) theory. In order to bring closer the SCD concepts and techniques to the GB theory, the following questions have had to be dealt with: (1) a specification …...

This paper addresses the problems of movement transformation in Prolog-based bottom-up parsing system. Three principles of Government-Binding theory are employed to deal with these problems. They are Empty Category Principle, C-command Principle, and Subjacency Principle. A formalism based upon them is proposed. Translation algorithms are given to add these linguistic …...

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 …...

ion is required to construct the appropriate flmctor expressions in semantics. By contrast, the...

Using the formalism of generalized phrase structure grammar (GF~SG) in an NL system (e.g. for machine translation (MT)) is promising since the modular structure of the formalism is very well suited to meet some particular needs of MT. However, it seems impossible to implement GPSG in its 1985 version straightforwardly. …...

An approach to automatic translation is outlined that utilizes technklues of statistical inl'ormatiml extraction from large data bases. The method is based on the availability of pairs of large corresponding texts that are translations of each other. In our case, the iexts are in English and French. Fundamental to the …...

This paper presents a computer-tool tea- ching system supplied by a language proce- ssor. Its aim is to correct mistakes in texts written by foreign students learning Russian as a second language. Since a text may include grammar mistakes, the system cannot use morphological analysis to fool extent. So one …...

In this paper I propose a Binding rule for the iden- tification of pronoun and anaphor referents in phrase-structure trees, assuming the general frame- work of lhe Government-binding theory outlined by Chom,;ky (1981). The Binding rule, specified by means of an attribute grammar, is a particular instantiation of the Free …...

In this paper, we show that one benefit of FUG, the ability to state global conslralnts on choice separately from syntactic rules, is difficult in generation systems based on augmented context free grammars (e.g., Def'mite Clause Cn'anmm~). They require that such constraints be expressed locally as part of syntactic rules …...

Kay's functional-unification grammar notation [5] is a way of expressing grammars which relies on very few primitive notions. The primary syntactic structure is the feature structure, which can be visualised as a directed graph with arcs labeled by attributes of a constituent, and the primary structure-building operation is unification. In …...

Although disjunction has been used in several unification- based grammar formalisms, existing methods of unification have been unsatisfactory for descriptions containing large quantities of disjunction, because they require exponential time. This paper describes a method of unification by succes- sive approximation, resulting in better average performance. 1...

Hassan Ait-Kaci introduced the #/-term, an informational structure resembling feature- based functional structures but which also includes taxonomic inheritance (Ait-Kaci, 1984). We describe e-terms and how they have been incorporated into the Logic Grammar formal- ism. The result, which we call Inheritance Grammar, is a proper superset of DCG and …...

In this paper, I revise generalized phrase structure grammar (GPSG) linguistic theory so that it is more tractable and linguis- tically constrained. Revised GPSG is also easier to understand, use, and implement. I provide an account of topicalization, ex- plicative pronouns, and parasitic gaps in the revised system and conclude …...

Previous work in generating explanations from advice- giving systems has demonstrated that a cooperative sys- tem can and should infer the immediate goals and plans of an utterance (or discourse segment) and formulate a response in light of these goals and plans. The claim of this paper is that a …...

This paper presents an analysis of a family of particular English constructions, all of which roughly express "purpose". In particular we look at the purpose clause, rationale .clause, and infinitival relative clause. We (1) show that couching the analysis in a computational framework, specifically generation, provides a more satisfying account …...

In this paper we argue that lexical selection plays a more important role in the generation process than has com- monly been assumed. To stress the importance of lexical- semantic input to generation, we explore the distinction and treatment of generating open and closed cla~s lexical items, and suggest an …...

Approaches to natural language processing that use a phrasal lexicon have the advantage of easily handling linguistic constructions that might otherwise be ex- tragrammatical. However, current phrasal lexicons are often too rigid: their phrasal entries fail to cover the more flexible constructions. FLUSH, for Flexible Lexicon Utilizing Specialized and Hierarchical …...

We describe a methodology and associated software system for the construction of a large lexicon from an existing machine-readable (published) dictionary. The lexicon serves as a component of an English mor- phological and syntactic analyesr and contains entries with grammatical definitions compatible with the word and sentence grammar employed by …...