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Anaphora and ellipsis in artificial languages

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 September 2008

Stephen G. Pulman
Stephen G. Pulman
Affiliation:
SRI International Cambridge Computer Science Research Centre, 23 Mill Lane, Cambridge CB2 1RQ, UK. Email: pulman@cam.sri.com and University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory
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Abstract

Artificial languages for person-machine communication seldom display the most characteristic properties of natural languages, such as the use of anaphoric or other referring expressions, or ellipsis. This paper argues that useful use could be made of such devices in artificial languages, and proposes a mechanism for the resolution of ellipsis and anaphora in them using finite state transduction techniques. This yields an interpretation system displaying many desirable properties: easily implementable, efficient, incremental and reversible.

Linguists in general, and computational linguists in particular, do well to employ finite state devices wherever possible. They are theoretically appealing because they are computationally weak and best understood from a mathematical point of view. They are computationally appealing because they make for simple, elegant, and highly efficient implementations. In this paper, I hope I have shown how they can be applied to a problem… which seems initially to require heavier machinery.

Type
Articles
Information
Natural Language Engineering , Volume 1 , Issue 3 , September 1995 , pp. 217 - 234
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

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