Subject: book : nlp : using prolog

an introduction to natural language processing through prolog clive matthews lecturer in linguistics at the university of east anglia . paper 0-582 - 06622 - 0 320 pages july 1998 learning about language series longman - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - research into natural language processing - the use of computers to process language - has developed over the last couple of decades into one of the most vigorous and interesting areas of current work on language and communication . this book introduces the subject through the discussion and development of various computer programs which illustrate some of the basic concepts and techniques in the field . the programming language used is prolog , which is especially well-suited for natural language processing and those with little or no background in computing . following the general introduction , the first section of the book presents prolog , and the following chapters illustrate how various natural language processing programs may be written using this programming language . since it is assumed that the reader has no previous experience in programming , great care is taken to provide a simple yet comprehensive introduction to prolog . due to the ' user friendly ' nature of prolog , simple yet effective programs may be written from an early stage . the reader is gradually introduced to various techniques for syntactic processing , ranging from finite state network recognisors to chart parsers . an integral element of the book is the comprehensive set of exercises included in each chapter as a means of cementing the reader 's understanding of each topic . suggested answers are also provided . an introduction to natural language processing through prolog is an excellent introduction to the subject for students of linguistics and computer science , and will be especially useful for those with no background in the subject . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - further information on the books published in this series , and the table of contents for this title can be viewed at the longman linguistics on-line catalogue at : http : / / www . awl-he . com / linguistics for a complete listing of our world-wide offices , please click below : http : / / www . awl-he . com / offices
