Bob Dickerson

A fast partial parse of natural language sentences using a connectionist method

The pattern matching capabilities of neural networks can be used to locate syntactic constituents of natural language. This paper describes a fully automated hybrid system, using neural nets operating within a grammatic framework. It addresses the representation of language for connectionist processing, and describes methods of constraining the problem size. The function of the network is briefly explained, and results are given.

Clues from Information Theory Indicating a Phased Emergence of Grammar

In this chapter we present evidence that there is an underlying local sequential structure in present day language, and suggest that the components of such a structure could have been the basis of a more highly evolved hierarchical grammar. The primary local sequential structure is shown to have its own benefits, which indicate that there could be an intermediate stage in the evolution of grammar, before the advantages of a fully developed syntax were realised.

Homophony and disambiguation through sequential processes in the evolution of language

Human language may have evolved through a stage when words were combined into structured linear segments, before these segments were used as building blocks for a hierarchical grammar. This hypothesis is approached by examining the apparently ubiquitous prevalence of homophones. It suggests how, perhaps contrary to expectation, communicative capacity does not seem to be adversely affected by homophones, and how it is that they can be routinely used without confusion. These facts are principally explained by disambiguation through syntactic processing of short word sequences. Local sequential processing plays an underlying role in language production and perception, a hypothesis that is supported by evidence that small children engage in this process as soon as they acquire words. Experiments on a corpus of spoken English calculated the entropy for sequences of syntactically labelled words. They show there is a measurable advantage in decoding word strings when they are taken in short sequences, rather than as individual items. This suggests that grammatical fragments of speech could have been a stepping stone to a full grammar.

Plus ca change...but what changes and what stays the same

Since 1949 there have been some dramatic changes in the fabrication technology of computing devices but in the design of computing devices and in software technology the changes have been more limited. This short note examines these differences and attempts to see what the implications are for software development and the future of computing. The main conclusion is that, in relative terms, the changes in software technology have been insignificant and, currently, show no signs of major improvement