Review Lecture - The algorithmic description of natural language

1972 ◽  
Vol 182 (1068) ◽  
pp. 255-276 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Language ◽  
Expressive Power ◽  
Scientific Study ◽  
Human Language ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Natural Languages ◽  
Computer Languages ◽  
Computing Science ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Semantic Aspect

Human language is a uniquely rewarding subject of psychological investigation because of the richness of its structure and its wide expressive power; and the ability to communicate in language is a skill which is possessed by almost all adult human beings. But the scientific study of language calls for appropriate modes of description; and the concept of an algorithm enables one to relate the phenomena of language to those of behaviour in general. A useful paradigm is to be found in computing science, where algorithms are expressed as programs written in specially designed languages. Like computer languages, natural languages have both a syntactic and a semantic aspect; and human utterances can be viewed as programs to be implemented by the hearer. This idea has been used for the development of computer programs with which one can converse in simple English.

Linguistic universals as evidence for empiricism

1978 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey Sampson
Keyword(s):  
Natural Language ◽  
Human Mind ◽  
Human Language ◽  
Biological Structure ◽  
Common Pattern ◽  
Natural Languages ◽  
Absolute Sense ◽  
Noam Chomsky ◽  
Universal Properties ◽  
The Mind

I. Noam Chomsky turned the previously rather specialized discipline of linguistics into a subject of considerable general philosophical interest by his argument that the discovery of universal properties of natural language requires us to adopt a ‘nativist’ or ‘rationalist’ view of human mind – a view according to which ‘our systems of belief are those that the mind, as a biological structure, is designed to construct’ (Chomsky, 1976: 7). (I shall use the terms ‘nativism’ and ‘rationalism’ interchangeably in this article, since any difference we make between them is not important in the context of Chomsky's work. The truth is that, as with many philosophical ‘isms’, the two words do duty for a range of many more than two closely related, partly overlapping theses.) When Chomsky began publishing, a widespread attitude to human language was that expressed by Martin Joos (1957: 96): ‘languages [can] differ from each other without limit and in unpredictable ways’. Chomsky claims that this is false: to quote one of his favourite examples, it is perfectly possible to imagine a language which forms yes/no questions simply by reversing the order of the words in the corresponding statements, yet in fact no natural language has a rule remotely like this (even though this rule seems rather simpler, in an absolute sense, than many of the rules which are found in natural languages). Human languages differ in some respects, but in other respects they are all cut to a common pattern. Much of Chomsky's and his followers' work consists of formulating and testing increasingly refined hypotheses about the precise limits within which natural languages may vary.

scholarly journals The Role of Computers for Language

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 435-436
Author(s):  
Dr. Rudra Prasad Mishra
Keyword(s):  
Natural Language ◽  
Electric Current ◽  
Beating Heart ◽  
Human Language ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Complex Problems

Abstract: The computer has even become the man’s beating heart (pacemaker), is busy diagnosing diseases by sailing like a boat in the river of blood flowing through the arteries, it has no substitute in simplifying complex surgeries. Why only surgery, computer has always been ahead in providing simple solutions to any complex problems of human beings. To work with the computer, it is necessary to understand and speak in the language of computers; otherwise, the computer remains inactive. Electricity is used to activate it. Based on electric current and electrical barrier, the binary language of the computer is formed, which is given the value of 1 and 0 respectively of natural language i.e. human language. Hence, 0 and 1 are those links that connect man to the computer. Keyword: Heart (pacemaker), complex surgeries, Computer, Electricity, natural language, binary language

scholarly journals Special Article: From Birdsong to Babel: the canine connection in the origin of human language

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-16
Author(s):  
Graham Pont
Keyword(s):  
Canary Islands ◽  
Ancient Greece ◽  
Human Language ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Natural Languages ◽  
Australian Aboriginal ◽  
The World ◽  
Modern Europe

Whistled languages are still found today in many parts of the world, the most celebrated being Silbo, in the Canary Islands. According to Australian Aboriginal legends, it was the birds who taught human beings how to speak. Similar traditions are found in Ancient Greece and Rome and modern Europe. This article explores the hypothesis that around 100 000 years BP there was an interaction of whistling sounds among birds, humans and dogs that eventually led to the development of the first natural languages, from birdsong to whistling to articulate speech.KEY WORDS evolution of natural languages, birdsong, whistling, dogs  

scholarly journals Language Evolution and Human-Computer Interaction

1991 ◽  
Vol 20 (354) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Grudin ◽  
Donald A. Norman
Keyword(s):  
Natural Language ◽  
Human Computer Interaction ◽  
Language Evolution ◽  
Computer Systems ◽  
Natural Languages ◽  
Computer Languages ◽  
Computer Interfaces ◽  
Human Computer Interfaces ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Computer Interaction

Many of the issues that confront designers of interactive computer systems also appear in natural language evolution. Natural languages and human-computer interfaces share as their primary mission the support of extended ''dialogues'' between responsive entities. Because in each case one participant is a human being, some of the pressures operating on natural languages, causing them to evolve in order to better support such dialogue, also operate on human-computer ''languages'' or interfaces. This does not necessarily push interfaces in the direction of natural language - since one entity in this dialogue is not a human, this is not to be expected. Nonetheless, by discerning where the pressures that guide natural language evolution also appear in human-computer interaction, we can contribute to the design of computer systems and obtain a new perspective on natural languages.

scholarly journals Tractable Lexical-Functional Grammar

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 515-569
Author(s):  
Jürgen Wedekind ◽  
Ronald M. Kaplan
Keyword(s):  
Natural Language ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Expressive Power ◽  
Functional Grammar ◽  
Natural Languages ◽  
Worst Case ◽  
Lexical Functional Grammar ◽  
Rewriting Systems ◽  
Mathematical Properties ◽  
Context Free

The formalism for Lexical-Functional Grammar (LFG) was introduced in the 1980s as one of the first constraint-based grammatical formalisms for natural language. It has led to substantial contributions to the linguistic literature and to the construction of large-scale descriptions of particular languages. Investigations of its mathematical properties have shown that, without further restrictions, the recognition, emptiness, and generation problems are undecidable, and that they are intractable in the worst case even with commonly applied restrictions. However, grammars of real languages appear not to invoke the full expressive power of the formalism, as indicated by the fact that algorithms and implementations for recognition and generation have been developed that run—even for broad-coverage grammars—in typically polynomial time. This article formalizes some restrictions on the notation and its interpretation that are compatible with conventions and principles that have been implicit or informally stated in linguistic theory. We show that LFG grammars that respect these restrictions, while still suitable for the description of natural languages, are equivalent to linear context-free rewriting systems and allow for tractable computation.

Natural Language Computing: The Commercial Applications

1984 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 11-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Natural Language ◽  
Computer Systems ◽  
Computer Industry ◽  
Human Language ◽  
Natural Languages ◽  
Early Stages ◽  
Commercial Applications

The computer industry is in the early stages of a revolution. Its capability for processing natural languages will advance dramatically over the next few years. As a result, computer systems which deal with human language will begin to play a central role in the industry. Computers will becooome significantly more accessible to many people, and many tasks which are wholly manual will be handled electronically.

Linguistic Data Model for Natural Languages and Artificial Intelligence. Part 5. Introduction to Logic

Discourse ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 109-117
Author(s):  
O. M. Polyakov
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Mathematical Logic ◽  
Natural Language ◽  
Semantic Interpretation ◽  
General View ◽  
World Model ◽  
Semantic Approach ◽  
Natural Languages ◽  
The World ◽  
Linguistic Aspect

Introduction. The article continues the series of publications on the linguistics of relations (hereinafter R–linguistics) and is devoted to an introduction to the logic of natural language in relation to the approach considered in the series. The problem of natural language logic still remains relevant, since this logic differs significantly from traditional mathematical logic. Moreover, with the appearance of artificial intelligence systems, the importance of this problem only increases. The article analyzes logical problems that prevent the application of classical logic methods to natural languages. This is possible because R-linguistics forms the semantics of a language in the form of world model structures in which language sentences are interpreted.Methodology and sources. The results obtained in the previous parts of the series are used as research tools. To develop the necessary mathematical representations in the field of logic and semantics, the formulated concept of the interpretation operator is used.Results and discussion. The problems that arise when studying the logic of natural language in the framework of R–linguistics are analyzed. These issues are discussed in three aspects: the logical aspect itself; the linguistic aspect; the aspect of correlation with reality. A very General approach to language semantics is considered and semantic axioms of the language are formulated. The problems of the language and its logic related to the most General view of semantics are shown.Conclusion. It is shown that the application of mathematical logic, regardless of its type, to the study of natural language logic faces significant problems. This is a consequence of the inconsistency of existing approaches with the world model. But it is the coherence with the world model that allows us to build a new logical approach. Matching with the model means a semantic approach to logic. Even the most General view of semantics allows to formulate important results about the properties of languages that lack meaning. The simplest examples of semantic interpretation of traditional logic demonstrate its semantic problems (primarily related to negation).

The Changing Faces of the Terror of Cultism in Nigerian Society: An Islamic Perspective

2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 97-111
Author(s):  
Abdulrazaq Kilani
Keyword(s):  
Religious Movements ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
New Religious Movements ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Material Resources ◽  
National Life ◽  
Indigenous Religions ◽  
Almost All ◽  
New Recruits ◽  
Populous Country

The menace of cultism in Nigeria society in general and our educational institutions in particular has reached an alarming stage that requires affirmative actions from all stakeholders. The scourge of cultism has claimed many lives of our youths and no serious authority can fold its arms and allow it to continue. It appears that the various efforts at curbing the menace have yielded no result. The corruption in most facets of our national life has finally subdued the educational institutions, which used to be the pride of place in the past. Most families are astonished to find out that children sent to school to learn and become better human beings in the society have initiated themselves into cult groups. The emergency of secret cultism has been characterized by some violent activities which include, physical torture of new recruits, maiming and killing of rival cult members and elimination of real and perceived enemies. Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, is composed of more than 250 ethnic groups with 36 states and one federal territory (Abuja). There are three major religions namely Islam (50%), Christianity (40%), and Africa Indigenous Religions (10%). The effect of globalization is also making other new religious movements to be making inroads into Nigeria. Nigeria has a population of about 141 million people (2006 census). Nigeria which is rich in both human and material resources is a country that is facing a lot of developmental challenges in almost all sectors due to poor leadership. The menace of cultism especially among youths and some influential people in the society represents one of the distortion facing the popular ‘giant’ of Africa. The aim of this chapter is to bring into the fore the menace of cultism in modern Nigeria as a brand of terrorism mind not the fact that there are even religious cults in both the developed and developing societies. The paper also adopted an Islamic lens to provide an analysis of the terror of cultism in contemporary Nigeria.

Rhetoric as the Foundation for Political Education

1983 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
pp. 4-5
Author(s):  
Peter Augustine Lawler
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
Political Rhetoric ◽  
Political Education ◽  
College Level ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
General Requirement ◽  
American Government ◽  
Introductory Course ◽  
Technical Discipline ◽  
Almost All

The serious study of the best examples of American political rhetoric can be used as the foundation for the introductory course in American government. The laws of most of our states understand the purpose of political education to be the creation of good citizens. Even at the college level, it makes sense to justify political education in terms of citizenship rather than with the benefits associated with a diffuse introduction to the technical discipline of political science.Citizenship, after all, is a quality shared by almost all human beings in our democratic regime, while only a very few of us ever will specialize in political science. The most cogent way of justifying the general requirement of study of a subject is by showing its universal utility, especially in a democracy, where utility is often the measure of worth.

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