COPESTAKE, FLICKINGER AND OEPEN

Language and Computation
PRACTICAL HPSG GRAMMAR ENGINEERING

Introductory course

ANN COPESTAKE, DANIEL P. FLICKINGER and STEPHAN OEPEN

CSLI, Stanford University and

Computational Linguisitics, University of the Saarland

First week
aac@csli.stanford.edu, dan@csli.stanford.edu, oe@coli.uni-sb.de

Course description

The implementation of linguistically based grammars for natural languages draws on a combination of engineering skills, sound grammatical theory, and software development tools. This course provides a hands-on introduction to the techniques and tools needed for building the precise, extensible grammars required both in research and in applications. Through a combination of lectures and in-class exercises, students will investigate the implementation of constraints in morphology, syntax, and semantics, working within the unification-based lexicalist framework of Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar.

Topics to be addressed in the course include the use of types and features, monotonic vs. default inheritance, usability for both parsing and generation, efficiency, and the use of test suites for evaluating progress. The daily implementation exercises will be conducted in the Lisp-based LKB grammar development platform produced by Copestake, and will include experience with adding and repairing lexical types, lexical entries, lexical rules, phrase structure schemata, compositional semantic constraints, and testing data.

Due to the practical nature of this course, class size is limited to a maximum of 25 people. Registration for the course will be possible as part of the registration for ESSLLI 98 on arrival and also immediately before the first lecture.

Prerequisites
Some basic knowledge of unification-based grammar formalisms and (formal) syntax (e.g. Chapter 1 of (Pollard & Sag 1994)).

Literature
Carl Pollard and Ivan A. Sag 1994. Head-Driven Phrase Structure Grammar. Chicago & London: The University of Chicago Press (ISBN 0-226-67447-9).

HOME PROGRAMME CONTACT REGISTRATION

Language and Computation	PRACTICAL HPSG GRAMMAR ENGINEERING
Introductory course	ANN COPESTAKE, DANIEL P. FLICKINGER and STEPHAN OEPEN CSLI, Stanford University and Computational Linguisitics, University of the Saarland
First week	aac@csli.stanford.edu, dan@csli.stanford.edu, oe@coli.uni-sb.de
Course description	The implementation of linguistically based grammars for natural languages draws on a combination of engineering skills, sound grammatical theory, and software development tools. This course provides a hands-on introduction to the techniques and tools needed for building the precise, extensible grammars required both in research and in applications. Through a combination of lectures and in-class exercises, students will investigate the implementation of constraints in morphology, syntax, and semantics, working within the unification-based lexicalist framework of Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar. Topics to be addressed in the course include the use of types and features, monotonic vs. default inheritance, usability for both parsing and generation, efficiency, and the use of test suites for evaluating progress. The daily implementation exercises will be conducted in the Lisp-based LKB grammar development platform produced by Copestake, and will include experience with adding and repairing lexical types, lexical entries, lexical rules, phrase structure schemata, compositional semantic constraints, and testing data. Due to the practical nature of this course, class size is limited to a maximum of 25 people. Registration for the course will be possible as part of the registration for ESSLLI 98 on arrival and also immediately before the first lecture.
Prerequisites	Some basic knowledge of unification-based grammar formalisms and (formal) syntax (e.g. Chapter 1 of (Pollard & Sag 1994)).
Literature	Carl Pollard and Ivan A. Sag 1994. Head-Driven Phrase Structure Grammar. Chicago & London: The University of Chicago Press (ISBN 0-226-67447-9).