COMPUTATION IN LINGUISTICS:

A Case Book

Edited by Paul L. Garvin and Bernard Spolsky

The rapidly growing interest of linguists in computer techniques has produced fruitful and possibly revolutionary developments in linguistic science. Of particular significance, it has brought about an increased emphasis on problem-solving which promises widespread and influential results. The application of computers and computational approaches to the linguist’s task permits him to substitute explanation for description, analysis and solution for mere compilation of data.

To illustrate these new departures in the linguistic sciences, the editors have brought together a series of representative case studies involving the use of computer techniques. Presented within the framework of contemporary linguistics, they provide the reader with an organized and enlightening description of the various roles of computation in linguistics. Among the processes analyzed in this volume are the applicability of data-processing techniques to the areas of fieldwork, historical linguistics, and dialect projects; and of computational logic to problems of parsing, determination of lexical similarity, spelling-to-sound conversion, morphemicization, verification of phrase structure descriptions, machine translation, automatic abstracting, and

Indiana University Studies in the History and Theory of Linguistics