Computational Linguistics: An Introduction (Studies in Natural Language Processing) [Paperback]

Ralph Grishman (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521310385 | ISBN-13: 978-0521310383 | Publication Date: November 28, 1986

In spite of the rapid growth of interest in the computer analysis of language, this book provides an integrated introduction to the field. Inevitably, when many different approaches are still being considered, a straightforward work of synthesis would be neither possible nor practicable. Nevertheless, Ralph Grishman provides a valuable survey of various approaches to the problems of syntax analysis, semantic analysis, text analysis and natural language generation, while considering in greater detail those that seem to him most productive. The book is written for readers with some background in computer science and finite mathematics, but advanced knowledge of programming languages or compilers is not necessary and nor is a background in linguistics. The exposition is always clear and students will find the exercises and extensive bibliography supporting the text particularly helpful.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Instructors looking for a good introductory text to use in a course devoted to computational linguistics should consider this book as a strong candidate if they wish to emphasize a linguistics approach.... The book is interestingly written with many insightful discussions, and it is the only (introductory) computational linguistics textbook that looks at the field from a linguist's point of view." John Roach, Computational Linguistics

Book Description

Provides a valuable overview to the problems of syntax analysis, semantic analysis, text analysis and natural language generation. Although the text is written for readers with a background in computer science and finite mathematics, advanced knowledge of programming language or linguistics is unnecessary.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (November 28, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521310385
• ISBN-13: 978-0521310383
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,153,662 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A nice and concise introduction to rule-based NLP, December 20, 1999

By 

Brad Cupp (Sterling, Virginia USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Computational Linguistics: An Introduction (Studies in Natural Language Processing) (Paperback)

Grishman offers a readable account of the issues faced by Natural Language Processing research. The discussion is bolstered by examples from some of the more interesting NLP systems. These examples are shallow, permitting a light read and keeping the focus of the book on linguistic issues. The majority of the book covers standard syntactic and semantic parsing techniques, while discourse analysis, anaphora resolution and text generation receive only a quick treatment. Although some attention is paid to alternative approaches, Grisham chooses to phrase most of his discussion in transformational terms.

The most serious weakness of this introduction is its age. Certain assertions, such as the claim that "a finite-state network (regular grammar) is unsuitable" for language processing (p. 18) are seen in hindsight as questionable. Further, the current trend towards statistical analysis is unaddressed.

Warning: some understanding of predicate calculus is necessary to follow the sections on semantic analysis.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Computational Linguistics, March 12, 2006

By 

Stavros Vlachoyannis (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Computational Linguistics: An Introduction (Studies in Natural Language Processing) (Paperback)

The fields of Computer Science and Mathematics allow us to explore the capabilities of the human brain. Part of this exploration includes the understanding of spoken languages processing and the automatic interpretation of these via computational machines. This book gives a solid foundation of the field and allows new researchers to put into perspective all new publications related to compilers design materials. I found a number of confusing concepts in new publications so I needed to buy this book to clear in my mind other author's ideas.

This is a book that I strongly recommend to anyone who is serious about languages, compilers, interpreters, etc.

Stavros Vlachoyannis
CS Graduate Student
Polytechnic University