English Algorithmic Grammar (PDF)

The ultimate goal of Computational Linguistics is to teach the computer to understand Natural Language. This research monograph presents a description of English according to algorithms which can be programmed into a computer to analyse natural language texts. The algorithmic approach uses series of instructions, written in Natural Language and organised in flow charts, with the aim of analysing certain aspects of the grammar of a sentence.

One problem with text processing is the difficulty in distinguishing word forms that belong to parts of speech taken out of context. In order to solve this problem, Hristo Georgiev starts with the assumption that every word is either a verb or a non-verb. From here he presents an algorithm which allows the computer to recognise parts of speech which to a human would be obvious though the meaning of the words. Emphasis for a computer is placed on verbs, nouns, participles and adjectives. English Algorithmic Grammar presents information for computers to recognise tenses, syntax, parsing, reference, and clauses.

The final chapters of the book examine the further applications of an algorithmic approach to English grammar, and suggests ways in which the computer can be programmed to recognise meaning. This is an innovative, cutting-edge approach to computational linguistics that will be essential reading for academics researching computational linguistics, machine translation and natural language processing.