Simple Parser for Natural Language?

Craig Latta Craig.Latta at NetJam.ORG
Mon Jul 19 20:50:23 UTC 1999


Hi Dan--

	I quite like the left-associative technique described by Roland Hausser in "NEWCAT: Parsing Natural Language Using Left-Associative Grammar", Springer Verlag Lecture Notes in Computer Science #231, ISBN 3-540-16781, New York 1986 <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0387167811/qid=932416406/sr=1-3/002-0111453-9445223>.

	Hausser implemented a LISP system which used it at Stanford's Center for the Study of Language and Information <http://www-csli.stanford.edu/csli>. It parses German and English. I don't know whether the complete sources were ever available (some of them appear in the book). It seems quite inexpensive computationally, and very simple. I implemented it for English as an exercise after reading the book. I never got past the toy stage (due to a toy lexicon and a toy database system), but I did get pretty familiar with the algorithm. My next step was to adapt the (public-domain) Moby lexicon for it <http://www.clres.com/dict.html>.

	I love this stuff...


-C


--
Craig Latta
composer and computer scientist
craig.latta at netjam.org
www.netjam.org
latta at interval.com
"Instant monotony! Just ad nauseam."





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