| { |
| "paper_id": "J78-2004", |
| "header": { |
| "generated_with": "S2ORC 1.0.0", |
| "date_generated": "2023-01-19T03:05:34.173555Z" |
| }, |
| "title": "American Journal of Comput atlonal Linguistics", |
| "authors": [ |
| { |
| "first": "R", |
| "middle": [ |
| "D" |
| ], |
| "last": "Coiiputation I N D E P A R T Ti E N T S O F L I W G U I S T I C S R I C H A", |
| "suffix": "", |
| "affiliation": {}, |
| "email": "" |
| }, |
| { |
| "first": "", |
| "middle": [], |
| "last": "Fritzson", |
| "suffix": "", |
| "affiliation": {}, |
| "email": "" |
| } |
| ], |
| "year": "", |
| "venue": null, |
| "identifiers": {}, |
| "abstract": "That computers and linguists meet, for the host part, only in the skill sorne~hat evotic field of computational linguistics is $ sad statement about the st2te of ordinary linguistic research The titre bhen computers were to be considered only the t o o l of the natural scientist or the statist$cally minded social s c i e q t i s t i s long past, 'word processing technology' is now the specialty of a growing number of computer companies Not only can this techrology be of great value i n reducing the clerical burden of the linguigt and linguistics student, but, iiinguists, as specialists who have been studying and manipulating language far years, are i n a position t o b e contributing to t h i s f i e l d Jn fact, in many areas of linguistic research the analysis of particular languages, the search for li~rgui&tic universal s, the analysis of discourse and text, computar technology can bc of help tc the l i n g u i s t , and, in many subfields of computer science automated lnngua~e processing, the deslgn of human/machme i~t e r f~c e s , the structuring of data bases, linguistics has much to offer the ccnnputer scientist, vet up until how, relatively few such cross contributions have been made Computer scientists have been slow to discgvei the v d u e of Ilnguistirs to their w o r~, the tine has come for linguists t o take the initiitivc and t o train themselves (and their students) to hake use of and contribute to the field of computer science, Speci?lized traltning in the us& of t h e corrputer with-ln a particular discipline is not new Students i n mary soclal sciences nok flnd themselves facing Lncreaslng pressure and rnanaatorf rcquirnQents to take c o~p t s r training wlthin the* department, f i f l g h i~t i c s is, In fact, unusual III not having such requirements or even oppur t u n i t i e s A t a time wnen graduating l i n g u i s t i c s students a l. facing a shrinking job market, the oppurtunity t o be trained ia s ~commercjallj useful application of lin~uistics ougnt t o be attractive to many students Today, in most u n f v e r s i t i~, coaput41,g i s dvililable t o linguistics", |
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| "paper_id": "J78-2004", |
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| "abstract": [ |
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| "text": "That computers and linguists meet, for the host part, only in the skill sorne~hat evotic field of computational linguistics is $ sad statement about the st2te of ordinary linguistic research The titre bhen computers were to be considered only the t o o l of the natural scientist or the statist$cally minded social s c i e q t i s t i s long past, 'word processing technology' is now the specialty of a growing number of computer companies Not only can this techrology be of great value i n reducing the clerical burden of the linguigt and linguistics student, but, iiinguists, as specialists who have been studying and manipulating language far years, are i n a position t o b e contributing to t h i s f i e l d Jn fact, in many areas of linguistic research the analysis of particular languages, the search for li~rgui&tic universal s, the analysis of discourse and text, computar technology can bc of help tc the l i n g u i s t , and, in many subfields of computer science automated lnngua~e processing, the deslgn of human/machme i~t e r f~c e s , the structuring of data bases, linguistics has much to offer the ccnnputer scientist, vet up until how, relatively few such cross contributions have been made Computer scientists have been slow to discgvei the v d u e of Ilnguistirs to their w o r~, the tine has come for linguists t o take the initiitivc and t o train themselves (and their students) to hake use of and contribute to the field of computer science, Speci?lized traltning in the us& of t h e corrputer with-ln a particular discipline is not new Students i n mary soclal sciences nok flnd themselves facing Lncreaslng pressure and rnanaatorf rcquirnQents to take c o~p t s r training wlthin the* department, f i f l g h i~t i c s is, In fact, unusual III not having such requirements or even oppur t u n i t i e s A t a time wnen graduating l i n g u i s t i c s students a l. facing a shrinking job market, the oppurtunity t o be trained ia s ~commercjallj useful application of lin~uistics ougnt t o be attractive to many students Today, in most u n f v e r s i t i~, coaput41,g i s dvililable t o linguistics", |
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| "eq_spans": [], |
| "section": "Abstract", |
| "sec_num": null |
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| "text": "departments only through the use o f a l a r g e , c e n t r a l university computer which is expected t o he of aervice t o a l l university departments. But, a s computer casts continue t o f a l l , and, as l a r s e computing centers continue t o be unresponsive to the needs of t h e i r new users, i t w i l l not be qneammon t o find more and mbre departments purchasing their owh computing f a c i l i t i e s and buying o r developing their own software This is already happening today, both by externally funded individual researchers and by e n t i r e departments i n need of specialized computing f a c i l i t i e s What kinds of computing equipment a r e available4or a l i n g u i s t i c s department crying t o equip i t s e l f today?", |
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| "text": "My Bnswer is structured, to some extent, by the organization b f language It is widely understood, even by non-stratificational l i n g u i s t s , t h a t the faculty of language is based on a s t a c k of structured systems, each one building a large number of u n i t s above from a smaller number below, i,e a handful of phonetic features combine t o form less than f i f t y phonemic segments which combine t o form thousands of morphemes,tens or hundreds of thousands of words, an i n f i n i t e number of sentences and texts expressing countless ideas and concepts It w i l l not be surprising t o find t h a t as one climbs t h i s &tack, from phonology upward, the amount of computing powet needed t o perform useful t a s k s and research increases i n proportion t o the increasing number of u n i t s and t h e complexity of t h e i r structuring I w i l l concernmyself, mostly, with the p o s s i b i l i t i e s a v a i l a b l e for the study of the lower l e v e l s This PB because the type of linguistic work being done i n t h e study of the semantic and cognitive levels is s t i l l primarily research and the people involved ere more l i k e l y t o already know t h e i r needs and options as far as computing goes Also, since t h e cost of computing i n these areas is somewhat higher, it is less l i k e l y t h a t department& w i l l be doing their own purchasing f o r these purposes", |
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| "text": "The 8tudent of phonology, morphology and l i n g u i s t i c f f e l d a n a l y s i s is concerned .,primarily with the manfpulation of l i n g u i s t~c t e x t , expressed as a If all or most o f the termint\\le i n a department are CRT type termlnala, i t w i l l be necessary to provide some means of producing 'hard copy' output on paper While most interactions with a computer can take p l a c e on a screen, some record of the r e s u l t s of a session will be needed for study and evaluation Printers which can handle the fhexible type fonts needed by l i n g u i s t s are available They are fast they operate in the dame way that copyillg wachines work and simply transfer the contents of the CRY screen to the paper (including ", |
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| "section": "HARDWARE FOR T)IE PHONOLOGIST", |
| "sec_num": null |
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| "text": "Syntax i s , perhaps, the most widely studied sub J ect i n linguistics today Given that t h i s is so, there i g a real need for linguists, both profess$onal and student, to understand the extreme d i f f i c u l t y of the task of writing a grammar for a language That attempts are made to do this without the aid of a computer is perhaps a l l the evidence one needs t o see that the difficulties are not well understood. A formal granmar, particularly one written i n the notations commonly used today, is very much like a computer progrm It is a l i s t of instructions for generating a list o f strings, a computer program is a l i s t of instructions for performing some process (which might be generating a list of strings) Both need to be precise, both are very complex, both suffer from the fact that a change i n one part of the ordered l i s t may cause an unanticipated change in the effect of another part It would be very surprising to find that l i n g u i s t s were better a t producing untested, yet correct, #formal charac'terizations of complex processes than computer programmers I eXpect that testing a newfy written gtammar w i l l be as enlightening as experience far a lihguisaics student as debugging a new codolex program is for a gompuer science student, Furthennore, just as the computer is sf uae i n studying phonology and ", |
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| "section": "H N U ) \\ J M FOR THE G W W . ' I A , Y", |
| "sec_num": null |
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| "text": "series o t phonemic symbols o r blokks of phonetic f e a t u r e s . f i e task i s t o i d e n t i f y identical o r s i m i l a r subqttings, c o r r e l a t e their appearance with a p a r t i c u l a r meaning and segment the text i n t o these i d e n t i f i e d substrings As new substrings aft fdentif ied, the t e x t is ofttn rewritten with o new orgcx~izatlofi based on new understandings, so as t o improve the chances oP f idding new ~ubsttings, f i e l d workers often use index cards for t h i s purpose Problem after problem is solved in this way, with a pot insignificant amount of time being spent i n the reorganizing and tecopying stages I t i s a tedidus business because it is t ery mechanical In fact, efficient computer algoritllms tor doing much of thq job already e x i s t and have been implemented on nedrly a l l computers in the form of t e x t e d i t o m The task 1$ relatively simple and even the smallest computer available can do an adequate job A linguistics department intcrested %n providing its students ~i t h training in the use of computers for t h i s kind of work (and they w i l l become standard toola for the purpose very soon) would do w e l l to purchase as many (one or more) identicdl, small (hobbyist s i z e ) computers aq it can afford For educational purposes, the very snalles t microcomputers, equipped d i t h qodest ~s s storage devices, such as tape cassettes o r floppy d i s c s , are j b s t fine Assignments i n classes can be distributed on departmentally owned or student owned tapes or discs (less that $10 each) These can be automatically duplioated just as assignments are nov mimeographed, they are reuseable and usually Contain enough room t o store several assignments, including the partial results &tom day t p da and final solutions For larger, research sized projects, involving d o t of t e l t , or more complicntcd analyses, suuh as automated analysis of phonof ogical tactics, the f a s t e a t microcomputers, with larger mass storage devices, might be more appropriate (Imlicit in the discussion of these types of machines f a the fact t h s t student use of them is via Bh interactive terminal Microcamputers are not typically operated i n 'batch mode', and no benefit could be derived from doing linguistic analysis in anv but an interactive mode of operation ) W h i h nl~crocomputers and associated memories are relatively inexpensive, linguists have a genuine need for sophisticated input and output d~v f c e s which arq somewhat more expensive Standard coaputer terminals generally provlde a l l md only the characters available on a typewriter keyboard, some provide only upper case letters What is needed is a terminal with the sme capabilities 9s the s e l e c t r i c s t y l e typewriter one with changeable type fonts, including the standard phonetic symbol alphabet, yith diacritics CRT terminals' (cathode ray tuber terminals) can provide this type'of operation more cheapty, more relkably, and more flexibly than printing terminals (there is no need to stop and change type fonts) CRT terminals which support user designed type fonts are available, arid in fact, may be the only ones on which the standard phonetic alphabet can be cu~rently supplied These terminals at2 somewhat expensive (apveral thousand dollqrs each), but since they are very flexiblel and often I support some degree of computer gtaphics display as well ad haung che potential to d i s p l a y texts written i n any language, they are vahuable educational taolc" |
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| "text": "graphic materials) They are expensive However, a small department mlght well f i n d that only one of these printers i s necessary t o meet their n&ds, the results of ~o r k done on any of the snall microcomputers could b e moved (either over cormbunication lines or carried on a disc or tape) t o the printer with l i t t l e or no delay" |
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| "text": "morphology, i t can also o f f e r d a t a organization s e r v i c e s t t o a i d i n t h e study of syntax Automated t a c t i c a n a l y s i s of syntax i s still a r e s e a r c h p r o j e c t , the! software neceqsary f o r i t i s not l i k e l y t o bc produced by a aoftware house. But t h e research i a probably b e s t performed i n a l i n g u i s t i c sdepartment Having e s t a b l i s h e d a need, we must now recall a warning made earlier Useful c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o the study of syntax by computers r e q u i r e s more computing power than i s needed f o r s i m i l a r contribution% t o the study of phonology and morpl~ology W h i l e the need f o r sophisticated type f o n t s and input/output devices is l o r e r (nor n e c e s s a r i l y a good eductional svntax program \\ o d d permit: t h e manipulatioh of s y n t a c t i c trees on o graphics s c r e e n ) , t h e r e i s a real need f o r foster processors and increased memorv c a p a c i t y To purchase t h e necessary computing p o l e r , a department would have t o s t e p up from t h e hobbvist microcomputer s i z e machines t o t h e s c i e n t i f i c research minicomputer ( e g t h e middle range PDP-11 s e r i e s ) These machines c o s t a6 o r d e r of magnitude more then t h e microcomputer and y e t , when t h e s u b j e c t i s syntax, w i l l probably only s e r v e a feb s t u d e n t s a t a time An a l t e r n a t i v e , a v a i l a b l e t o some d e p a r t e n t s , i s t o urie t h e u n i v e r s i t y ' s central computing f a c i l i t y * Money could be spent on the best a v a i l a b l e t e r m i n a l s and the needed c o m u n i c a t i o n s equipment Grammar t e s t e r s have been w r i t t e n by university r e s e a r c h e r s f o r t y p i c a l u n i v e r s i t y s i z e computers (Friedman 1971, f o r transfbrmational g r m a r s , Kehlen 1976, f o r ATN grammars) and are a v a i l a b l e a t l i t t l e or no c o s tAs I mentioned i n t h e beginwing, $he use of the computer i n t h e study of semantics and c o g n i t i o n i s s t i l l very much a r e s e a r c h togxc and l i t t l e , I\u00a3 any of t h e work being done c u r r e n t l y can be performed on small computersI w i l l n o t descrgbe t h e requirements of such work s i n c e they vary widely depending an t h e n a t u r e of the work, SOFTWARE FOR TFF LXECUf ST What is missing from t h e computing f a c i i i t i e s described s o f a r Zs software, programs which a r e of use I n sglving linguistics ptoblems The small coqputqrs are s o l d with a minimum of very t r a d i t t o n a l computer sdftware, none of i t of any use t o the nonprograming l i n g u i s t I n t a c t , a t no l e v e l of computing powerlis there c u r r e n t l y a v a i l a b l e c o m e r c i a l s o f t w a r e which i s of u s e t o nonprograming l i n g u i s t s For l a r g e computers, as mentioned above some of the r e s u l t s of u n i v e r s i t y r e s e a r c h work is a v a i l a b l e for some purposes However, f o r t h e types of machines t h a t departments are l i k e l y t o purchase, t h e r e is e s s e n t i a l l y n o t h i n g This problem can b e overcome i n two ways The standard method i s f o r a department t o hjre a s t u d e n t programmer t o design md write t h e needed software This has s e v e r a l advantages i t i s r e l a t i v e l y cheap ( e s p e c i a l l y when u n i v e r s i t y assistantships a r e a v a i l a b l e for t h e purpose), i t i s personalt h e s t u d e n t can be i n s t r u c t e d t o wrxte e x x t l y the kind of program t h q t is needed The disadvqntnges of t h i s n~cthod Ire i n t h c quality and d u r~b i l i t y of the s y s t c~t~s produced J n t h i s wqy Student ylugronuncrs ?re, i n f a c t , students learning t o program Of ten the11 korfc is l w l c j n g i n the ' ease-oizuse' o r 'hunnn e n g i n e e r i n g f f e a t u r e s found i n w e l l w r i t t e n , comme~cially produced programs, and, i t is just t h e q e f e a t u~c s which are very important t o useos n o t Eamibiar w i t h o r c o m f o r t~b l e with compyters Furthermore, programs produced by s t u d e n t progranuncls are n o t well known f o r t h e i r r e l i a b i l i t y , maintenance of them i s d i f f i c r t l t and u s u a l l y r e s t r i c t e d t o t h e p e r i o d of time t h a t t h e o r i g i n a l programmer i s s t i l l a v a i l a b l e Again, t o t h e u s e r u n f a m i l i a r with computers, r e l i 3 b i l i t . y i s a very important f e a t u r e It is v e r y discouraging t o t r y t o do anything w i t h semi-operational programs An a l t e r n a t i v e is t o c r e a t e s u f f i c i e n t demand f o r t h i s t y p e of e d u c a t i o n a l software s o t n a t a commercial software house o r a w e l l funded u n i v e r s i t y programming grqup would c o n s i d e r t h e investment of i t s time and money p r o f i t a b l e ' With l i n g u i s t s and l i n g u i s t i c educators p r o v i d i n g i n p u t a t t h e d e s i g n l e v e l , very useful and reasonably p r i c e d s o f t w a r e could h e produced i n t h i s way The c a t c h , however, l i e s i n g e n e r a t i n g s u f f i c i e n t demand A f i n a l comment about one o t h e r p o t e n t i a l use of computers within a l i n g u i s t i c s departmeqt The s e a r c h f o r language u n i v e r s a l s (cross l i n g u i s t i c r e s e a r c h ) r e q u i r e s v e r y l a r g e c o l l e c t i o n s of u f o r m a t i o n A~c o l l e c t i o n of p a r t i a l and complete grammars a l o n g w i t h sample t e x t s f o r a large representative sample of human languages 1s a formidable amount o f i n f o r m a t i o~ The kinds of q u e s t i o n s posed by linguists using t h i s information do not r e q u i r e immediate i n t e r a c t i v e response In f a c t , they t r a d i t i o n a l l y r e q u i r e weeks o r months of library r e s e a r c h f o r answers It is t h e r e f o r e n o t unreasonable t o c o n s i d e r t h e storage of t h i s information on a s m a l l , even h o b b y i s t s i z e , computer equipped with l a r g e mass s t o r a g e d e v i c e s The t a s k i s a d i f f i c u l t one, but of potential value to both linguists and computer scientists Linguists need easier access to t h i e i n f o l m a t i o n A computerized database, structured accoiding to the needs of l i n g u i s t s , would b e a very valuable t o o l w l~i c h could be distributed to m y d t p l t tmcnt a i l l i n y t o Make t h c necess ~l y i n v c tmcnt in I~a l d w l r c lllc d 1 1 11) ~s c i 1 KI g c , h u t unl i h~ many other I?rgc d l t a b lees, it is ollr ~h o u t who t ~t l l t n t i s t s 3ra till l o o h i n p f 01 \\ ~v s to c f f c~ t i v e l ) qnd e f f f c i c n t l y o r g ? n f z c d .it?b?.;es, q11d l i n~u i s t s, 1 i t h t h t i i i n t i m q t t h~lot*lt.dke of the stru~ture of l?nyu?&c, have ln o y p u x t u n i t y h~l t to p l o v i d t In t \\ a m p l~ of how t o usc t h e ~~I U L t u l c of 1 hodv OJ illfox1113ti011 111 s t o l l n p it on a r c o n~p u t~~ t f f c c t i v t 1 y It i\\ K t ~% h 11i~11 rt qu-11 t 5 t l l c c\\per t knot ICL!?L of sevelql l i n l u i 5 t i c d i s~i p l i n t s ?rid i t I s . i l e s t 1 1~1 1 p l o j e~t i d c u l y s u i t t d t o a department of linbuistics" |
| } |
| } |
| } |
| } |
