This article gives a short introduction on how to get started with logic programming in Prolog that does not require any previous programming experience. The presentation is aimed at students of linguistics, but it does not go deeper into linguistics than any student who has some ideas of what a computer is, can follow the text. I cannot, of course, cover all aspects of logic programming in this text, and so we give references to other sources with more details.
We propose an abductive model based on Constraint Handling Rule Grammars (CHRGs) for detecting and correcting errors in problem domains that can be described in terms of strings of words accepted by a logic grammar. We provide a proof of concept for the specific problem of detecting and repairing natural language errors, in particular, those concerning feature agreement. Our methodology relies on grammar and string transformation in accordance with a user-defined dictionary of possible repairs. This transformation also serves as top-down guidance for our essentially bottom-up parser. With respect to previous approaches to error detection and repair, including those that also use constraints and/or abduction, our methodology is surprisingly simple while far-reaching and efficient.
Logic Programming for Linguistics: A short introduction to Prolog, and Logic Grammars with Constraints as an easy way to Syntax and Semantics