Course:%20Natural%20Language%20Syntax%20(CS%206998)%20Spring%202005

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Course Natural Language Syntax (CS 6998) Spring
2005

• Martin Jansche and Owen Rambow

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TIME, LOCATION

• Wednesdays  11 00AM-1250PM 
• In 620 CEPSR (tbc)
• The course starts January 19, 2005
• Offical info COMS E6998-1 (28753), Topics In
  Computer Science, I (Adv Tpcs/naturl Lang
  Proc)    3.0    0    O. Rambow  

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WHAT IS NATURAL LANGUAGE SYNTAX?

• Syntax structure of natural language utterances
• Syntax interface between surface strings and
  meaning
• Example Who does what to whom?
• Pat convinced Robin to shave
• Pat promised Robin to shave
• Pat left Robin to shave
• Not just a matter of words having different
  meanings!

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COURSE OUTLINE

• What is syntax?
• Descriptive introduction to some of the core
  linguistic phenomena (English, other languages)
• Frameworks for the representation of syntax TAG,
  HPSG, LFG, Chomskyan Minimalism
• Computational aspects

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WHO SHOULD TAKE THIS COURSE?

• Anyone interested in natural language
• Natural language processing/AI students in
  computer science
• Students in other disciplines who need an
  overview of syntax, including formal approaches
  to representing syntax

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COURSE REQUIREMENTS

• One to three short presentations in class (5-15
  minutes) examples
• Raising constructions in Nepali
• An LFG analysis of wh-movement in Egyptian Arabic
• Final project a paper and/or an implementation
  can focus on linguistic, formal, and/or
  computational issues examples
• Wh-movement and relative clauses in Egyptian
  Arabic
• Raising in Malagasy and the formal power of LFG
• A robust parser using TAG
• A processing model for garden-path sentences in
  English based on Categorial Grammar