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Showing papers on "Natural language published in 1976"


Book
01 Jan 1976

2,041 citations



Book ChapterDOI
01 Jan 1976
TL;DR: In this article, a possible-worlds semantics for comparative constructions in English is presented, where a unified treatment is given of comparatives involving adjectives, mass nouns, and numerical comparisons.
Abstract: This paper presents possible-worlds semantics for comparative constructions in English. In particular, a unified treatment is given of comparatives involving adjectives, mass nouns, and numerical comparisons. The paper is not “Montague grammar” in the strict sense of expounding or developing Montague's own work, but it shares two important features: (a) It is based on possible-worlds semantics, and (b) it aims to make the underlying formal language as close as possible to the surface.1 It in fact uses the procedure and terminology I adopted in Cresswell (1973), though I have taken pains to make the paper self-contained, and at certain points I reject analyses I once favored and present alternative ones. In Section 1 I set out the formal languages I want to put forward as underlying natural languages, and summarize their semantic framework. Section 2 is the heart of the paper and presents a detailed semantic analysis of comparative adjectives. Section 3 discusses mass nouns and plurals; Section 4 looks at the metaphysics that underlie comparisons; Section 5 takes up the relation between the underlying formal language of comparatives and their surface form; and Section 6 lists a few problem cases, with tentative suggestions for the solution of some of them.

492 citations


Journal Article
TL;DR: For instance, the authors states that reading is both a need and a hobby at once, and that the condition is the on that will make you feel that you need to read.
Abstract: Some people may be laughing when looking at you reading in your spare time. Some may be admired of you. And some may want be like you who have reading hobby. What about your own feel? Have you felt right? Reading is a need and a hobby at once. This condition is the on that will make you feel that you must read. If you know are looking for the book enPDFd origins and evolution of language and speech annals of the new york academy of sciences v 280 as the choice of reading, you can find here.

401 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper defines a formalism, called conceptual graphs, that can describe data according to the user's view and access dataaccording to the system's view that can represent functional dependencies in the data base and support inferences and computations that are not explicit in the initial query.
Abstract: A data base system that supports natural language queries is not really natural if it requires the user to know how the data are represented. This paper defines a formalism, called conceptual graphs, that can describe data according to the user's view and access data according to the system's view. In addition, the graphs can represent functional dependencies in the data base and support inferences and computations that are not explicit in the initial query.

364 citations


Book
01 Jun 1976

279 citations


Book
01 Jan 1976
TL;DR: This thesis describes a computer program which uses all information to write stories, called TALE-SPIN, which produces stories in English, interacting with the user, who specifies characters, personality characteristics, and relationships between characters.
Abstract: : People draw on many diverse sources of real-world knowledge in order to make up stories, including the following: knowledge of the physical world; rules of social behavior and relationships; techniques for solving everyday problems such as transportation, acquisition of objects, and acquisition of information; knowledge about physical needs such as hunger and thirst; knowledge about stories their organization and contents; knowledge about planning behavior and the relationships between kinds of goals; and knowledge about expressing a story in a natural language. This thesis describes a computer program which uses all information to write stories. The areas of knowledge, called problem domains, are defined by a set of representational primitives, a set of problems expressed in terms of those primitives, and a set of procedures for solving those problems. These may vary from one domain to the next. All this specialized knowledge must be integrated in order to accomplish a task such as storytelling. The program, called TALE-SPIN, produces stories in English, interacting with the user, who specifies characters, personality characteristics, and relationships between characters. Operating in a different mode, the program can make those decisions in order to produce Aesop-like fables. (Author)

275 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors argued that interlanguages are natural languages, in the obvious sense, but that their grammar is peculiar in being permeable, which explains why learners can transfer grammatical properties from their native language and why they can generalize or otherwise distort target language properties in an effort to communicate.
Abstract: This paper argues that the Interlanguage Hypothesis, as it is currently stated, lacks clear definitions of some of its most important characteristics. The central characteristics of ILs are examined. It is suggested that interlanguages (ILs) are natural languages, in the obvious sense, but that their grammar is peculiar in being permeable. This permeability of ILs explains why learners can transfer grammatical properties from their native language and why they can generalize or otherwise distort target language properties in an effort to communicate. Accepting this view of ILs forces the researcher to gather specific and copious data to support the hypotheses which may be proposed concerning the grammatical intuitions of any IL speaker. The relevance of this proposal to research strategies and the advantages of research with a more explicit notion of ILs are discussed.

255 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors examined the use of interpersonal verbal routines such as greetings and thanks as a universal phenomenon of human languages, related in some way to the widespread ‘greeting’ behavior of other animals.
Abstract: The use of interpersonal verbal routines such as greetings and thanks is examined as a universal phenomenon of human languages, related in some way to the widespread ‘greeting’ behavior of other animals. Examples from Syrian Arabic, American English, and other languages are used to show differing patterns of structure and use, susceptible of grammatical and sociolinguistic analysis. Features of diachronic change and children's acquisition are briefly treated. Call is made for better description and analysis of politeness formulas in grammars of languages and in ethnographics of communication. (Ritual, politeness, language change, language acquisition.)

180 citations


Book
01 Oct 1976
TL;DR: ELI (English Language Interpreter) is a natural language parsing program currently used by several story understanding systems that produces meaning representations rather than syntactic structures and uses context-based exceptions to control its parsing routines.
Abstract: : ELI (English Language Interpreter) is a natural language parsing program currently used by several story understanding systems. ELI differs from most other parsers in that it: produces meaning representations (using Schank's Conceptual Dependency system) rather than syntactic structures; uses syntactic information only when the meaning can not be obtained directly; talks to other programs that make high level inferences that tie individual events into coherent episodes; uses context-based exceptions (conceptual and syntactic) to control its parsing routines. Examples of texts that ELI has understood, and details of how it works are given.

170 citations



Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is generally concluded that the present approach towards modelling the behavior of complex organizations is not without interesting potentialities, and that verbal models may, under certain circumstances, be superior to corresponding conventional simulation models.
Abstract: The idea that loosely defined simulation models of organizational behavior can yield more significant information than conventional precisely defined ones, has been explored. Natural language has been utilized as a medium for this purpose. This has allowed for the values of the variables to be linguistic rather than numerical, and for causal relations between the variables to be formulated verbally rather than mathematically. Such models have been called verbal models . A generative grammar is presented which restricts the set of allowed linguistic values and relations in a model specification. This makes it possible to formulate a semantical model based on fuzzy set theory of the words in the vocabulary. The semantical model can be used to calculate the dynamic behavior of verbal models. Thus it becomes possible to infer future behavior of a verbal model, given its linguistically stated initial state. This process was greatly facilitated by implementing the semantical model in an APLworkspace, thus making it possible to write linguistic values and relations directly on a terminal, using a syntax very close to that of natural language. The semantical model would then be automatically activated and respond with the linguistic values of output variables. A simulation study is presented which shows that verbal models indeed may yield significant information based on rather general premises. This indicates that they may, under certain circumstances, be superior to corresponding conventional simulation models. It is generally concluded that the present approach towards modelling the behavior of complex organizations is not without interesting potentialities.

Journal ArticleDOI
S. R. Petrick1
TL;DR: Certain pervasive difficulties that have arisen in developing natural language based systems are identified, and the approach taken to overcome them in the REQUEST (Restricted English QUESTion-Answering) System is described.
Abstract: Some of the arguments that have been given both for and against the use of natural languages in question-answering and programming systems are discussed. Several natural language based computer systems are considered in assessing the current level of system development. Finally, certain pervasive difficulties that have arisen in developing natural language based systems are identified, and the approach taken to overcome them in the REQUEST (Restricted English QUESTion-Answering) System is described.

01 Nov 1976
TL;DR: This paper is an attempt to be evocative rather than definitive; to convey intuitions rather than to formulate crucial arguments which justify this approach over others, and will be successful if it suggests some ways of looking at language which lead to further understanding.
Abstract: The term "procedural semantics" has been used in a variety of ways, not all compatible, and not all comprehensible. In this paper, I have chosen to apply the term to a broad paradigm for studying semantics (and in fact, all of linguistics). This paradigm has developed in a context of writing computer programs which use natural language, but it is not a theory of computer programs or programming techniques. It is "procedural" because it looks at the underlying structure of language as fundamentally shaped by the nature of processes for language production and comprehension. It is based on the belief that there is a level of explanation at which there are significant similarities between the psychological processes of human language use and the computational processes in computer programs we can construct and study. Its goal is to develop a body of theory at this level. This approach necessitates abandoning or modifying several currently accepted doctrines, including the way in which distinctions have been drawn between "semantics" and "pragmatics" and between "performance" and "competence". The paper has three major sections. It first lays out the paradigm assumptions which guide the enterprise, and elaborates a model of cognitive processing and language use. It then illustrates how some specific semantic problems might be approached from a procedural perspective, and contrasts the procedural approach with formal structural and truth conditional approaches. Finally, it discusses the goals of linguistic theory and the nature of the linguistic explanation. Much of what is presented here is a speculation about the nature of a paradigm yet to be developed. This paper is an attempt to be evocative rather than definitive; to convey intuitions rather than to formulate crucial arguments which justify this approach over others. It will be successful if it suggests some ways of looking at language which lead to further understanding.


Proceedings ArticleDOI
13 Oct 1976
TL;DR: An overview of the current state of the PSI automatic program synthesis system is presented and the design considerations are discussed.
Abstract: This paper presents an overview of the current state of the PSI automatic program synthesis system and discusses the design considerations. The PSI system allows a user to specify a desired program in a dialogue using natural language and traces. PSI then synthesizes a program meeting these specifications. The target programs are simple symbolic computation programs in LISP.PSI may be described as a knowledge-based program understanding system. It is organized as a collection of closely interacting modules, or experts in the areas of natural language, discourse, traces, application domain, high-level program modelling, coding, and efficiency. An implementation effort is underway and several modules are now working.


Proceedings ArticleDOI
12 Apr 1976
TL;DR: The result shows that such a system might well be based on rules rather than on an extensive dictionary, and a useful tool in speech synthesis work is described (i.e. a programming language).
Abstract: When reading a text a native speaker pronounces most words correctly even if they are unknown to him. During this process he makes use of his knowledge of the language, the semantic content and the syntax. However, if we take away all information except the spelling and some pronunciation rules on the word level, the task would be more difficult. This is basically the case in our text-to-speech synthesis system containing neither semantic and syntactic analysis nor a word or morpheme dictionary. At the conference the function of our present synthesis system will be discussed. The result shows that such a system might well be based on rules rather than on an extensive dictionary. Furthermore a useful tool in speech synthesis work is described (i.e. a programming language).



Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a system of total communication, which involves signing a word with the hands while saying it simultaneously, has been used successfully with mentally disabled students, ages 3 to 21, in the Seattle public schools.
Abstract: • A system of total communication, which involves signing a word with the hands while saying it simultaneously, has been used successfully with mentally handicapped students, ages 3 to 21, in the Seattle public schools. Two speech pathologists, in cooperation with a classroom language pathologist, have used a combination of manual English and specific verbalization activities to teach language skills. Students are not only learning and retaining the correct manual English signs, but many are also initiating a sign as well as verbalizing the corresponding word. These innovative teaching techniques have increased the language success rate for the majority of the children involved in the program.


Journal ArticleDOI
N. Umeda1
01 Apr 1976
TL;DR: This paper concerns work at Bell Laboratories in the area of purely automatic (i.e., nonhuman) text synthesis and summarizes the development of related prosody rules from natural speech data.
Abstract: Prosody plays the role in speech ot producing a spoken message meaningful to a particular circumstance, from otherwise unweighted abstract units called phonemes. In the process of message formation, phonemes are given proper acoustic characterization according to the syntactic and semantic structure of the message, the location of stress and boundaries, and surrounding phonemes. Since this process occurs at a subconscious level, it has not received attention from researchers in the language related fields until recently. The recent progress in speech-synthesis techniques has made us aware of the importance of prosody in speech communication, and has encouraged the rule formation for this process. This paper concerns work at Bell Laboratories in the area of purely automatic (i.e., nonhuman) text synthesis. It summarizes the development of related prosody rules from natural speech data.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A solution to the closely related problem of developing a program which can be taught a language and is capable of handling problems of the order of typical programming languages is discussed.
Abstract: The classical definition of the grammatical inference problem is to find a grammar for a language, given a finite sample from that language. We discuss a solution to the closely related problem of developing a program which can be taught a language. The method is highly interactive and attempts to make maximum use of negative information. It has proved to be efficacious on context-free languages such as the one of expressions over the alphabet of letters, digits, parentheses, and arithmetic operators. We believe it is capable of handling problems of the order of typical programming languages.

01 Jan 1976
TL;DR: The capabilities of 5 computer programs at Yale that do automatic natural language processing as of the end of 1976 are summarized in this report.
Abstract: : This report describes the state of the computer programs at Yale that do automatic natural language processing as of the end of 1976. The theory behind the programs shown here as well as descriptions of how those programs function, has been described elsewhere. This report is summarizes the capabilities of 5 computer programs at the present time.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine distinctive characteristics of a primary language (American Sign Language) which is manual-visual rather than oral-aural and propose that attributes of the mode of this language predispose not only the language itself but also its art forms to certain special characteristics.

Book ChapterDOI
01 Jan 1976
TL;DR: This chapter discusses Montague grammar and the lexical decomposition of causative verbs and proposes a model-theoretic interpretation of the formulas of the artificial language.
Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter discusses Montague grammar and the lexical decomposition of causative verbs. The theories of the syntax and semantics of natural language proposed by Montague and like-minded logicians share two important methodological premises with the school of American linguistics known as generative semantics: (1) no serious theory of the syntax of a natural language can be constructed apart from a semantic theory of that language, and (2) the analysis of the semantics of natural language is best approached through the existing theoretical framework of mathematical logic. The grammar of PTQ (Proper Treatment of Quantification) provides for the specification of the set of well-formed sentences of a fragment of English, the specification of the set of well-formed formulas of a certain artificial language, a procedure for mapping sentences of English onto formulas of the artificial language, and a model-theoretic interpretation of the formulas of the artificial language. In actuality, it is as yet quite unclear that all the words of a natural language or all natural languages will yield themselves to exhaustive decomposition into expressions formed out of some small set of semantic primitives.



Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The effability hypothesis as mentioned in this paper focuses the rationalist-empiricist controversy on the concrete questions of the relation of language t o thought and the character of language acquisition and proposes a hypothesis that concerns semantic as well as syntactic structure.
Abstract: principles are tested against the facts in comparative linguistics. (Ref. 9, Sections 5 , 6, & 7.) Above, we described the controversy between rationalism and empiricism over the uniqueness of human beings and human natural language. We described the limitations of a syntactic account of uniqueness and proposed a hypothesis that concerns semantic as well as syntactic structure. The effability hypothesis sharply focuses the rationalistempiricist controversy on the concrete questions of the relation of language t o thought and the character of language acquisition. Quine and other linguistic relativists, such as Whorf and Sapir, make the empiricist assumption that the objects manipulated in thought are or correspond directly to the particular sentences learned in acquiring a language. Quine is particularly clear: Thus who would undertake to translate ‘Neutrinos lack mass’ into the jungle language? If anyone does, we may expect him to coin words or distort the usage of old ones. We may expect him to plead in extenuation that the natives lack the requisite concepts; also that they know too little physics. And he is right except for the hint of there being some freefloating, linguistically neutral meaning which we capture, in ‘Neutrinos lack mass’, and the native cannot.’) To make it perfectly clear, Quine adds that it is an illusion to think that less theoretical, so more readily translatable sentences . . . are diverse verbal embodiments of some intercultural of some intercultural proposition or meaning, when they are better seen as the merest variants of one and the same intercultural verbalism. The discontinuity of radical translation tries our meanings: really sets them over against their verbal embodiments, or, more typically, finds nothing there.” This is the very opposite of a rationalist view. For rationalists, cases of failure to translate theoretical sentences represent only a temporary inability of speakers, based on their lack of knowledge of the relevant sciences,to make the proper combination of primitive semantic concepts to form the appropriate proposition. That is, the failure represents a temporary vocabulary gap (rather than a deficiency of the language) which makes it necessary to resort to paraphrase, creation of technical Katz: Uniqueness of Natura l Language 41 vocabulary, metaphorical extension, and so on, in order to make translations possible in practice, as well as in principle. The empiricist assumption that our concepts come from experience is responsible for the empiricist’s view that natural languages are not intertranslatable; similarly, the rationalist assumption that our concepts come from our genes is responsible for the rationalist’s view that natural languages are intertranslatable. The well-known doctrine of linguistic relativity, which states that cultural differences produce incommensurate conceptual frameworks, derives neither from the discovery of exceptional facts about exotic languages by linguists like Whorf nor from important breakthroughs in the study of methodology by philosophers like Quine. Rather, the doctrine derives from the empiricism common to these linguists and philosophers.(