A Computational Introduction To Linguistics

Para Denise c 2013 Copyright CSLI Publications Center for the Study of Language and Information Leland Stanford Junior University Printed in the United States 17 16 15 14 13 12345 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ojeda, Almerindo E. A computational introduction to linguistics: describing language in plain PROLOG / Almerindo E. Ojeda. p. cm. – (CSLI lecture notes ; no. 206) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN: 978-1-57586657-4 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN: 978-1-57586659-8 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN: 978-1-57586660-4 (electronic) 1. Computational linguistics. 2. Prolog (Computer program language) I. Title. P98.O54 410.2850 53–dc23 2013 2012050330 CIP CSLI Publications gratefully acknowledges a generous gift from Jill and Donald Knuth in support of scholarly publishing that has made the production of this book possible. ∞ The acid-free paper used in this book meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. CSLI was founded in 1983 by researchers from Stanford University, SRI International, and Xerox PARC to further the research and development of integrated theories of language, information, and computation. CSLI headquarters and CSLI Publications are located on the campus of Stanford University. CSLI Publications reports new developments in the study of language, information, and computation. In addition to lecture notes, our publications include monographs, working papers, revised dissertations, and conference proceedings. Our aim is to make new results, ideas, and approaches available as quickly as possible. Please visit our web site at http://cslipublications.stanford.edu/ for comments on this and other titles, as well as for changes and corrections by the author and publisher. Contents Introduction 1 2 xi Language, Grammar, PROLOG 1 1 A Broad Definition of Language 1 2 Narrowing the Definition of Language 6 3 Time for an Example 9 4 The Goals of a Grammar 15 5 Narrowing the Definition of Grammar Further 6 Time for Another Example 30 7 Grammars as Deductive Systems 34 8 Why PROLOG? 38 9 Facing Infinity and Indeterminacy 40 10 Other Preliminaries 41 11 Suggestions for Further Reading 45 12 Exercises 46 Phonology: The Nature of Linguistic Sound 1 Introduction 51 2 The Phones of Language 53 3 Representing Phones in PROLOG 56 4 Phone Properties 57 5 Natural Classes of Phones 60 6 The Syllable 63 7 The Sounds of English 70 8 Suggestions for Further Reading 73 9 Exercises 73 v 25 51 vi / A Computational Introduction to Linguistics 3 4 Semantics: The Nature of Linguistic Meaning 1 What is Meaning? 2 Implementing the Procedural Theory of Meaning 3 Proper Names 4 Unary Predicates 5 Binary Predicates: Preliminaries 6 Binary Predicates: Kinterms 7 Binary Predicates: Deictics 8 Ternary Predicates 9 Sentences: Declaratives 10 Sentences: Interrogatives 11 Historical Note 12 Conclusion 13 Suggestions for Further Reading 14 Exercises 77 77 80 84 86 90 92 98 101 102 109 111 113 115 115 Morphology I: The Combinatorics of Words 1 Whence Words Come 117 2 Time for a Concrete Example 3 Prefixation 124 4 Suffixation 128 5 Infixation 6 Circumfixation 7 Interfixation 8 Reduplication 9 Metathesis