Abstract
This paper describes a natural language generation system known as VINCI, which accepts as input a formal description of some subset of a natural language, and generates strings in the language. With the help of an attribute grammar formalism, the system can be used to simulate on a computer components of several current linguistic theories. The program, implemented in C, runs under a variety of operating systems, including UNIX, MS-DOS and VM/CMS. In this paper we consider not only the design of the system, but also some of its applications in linguistic modelling and second language acquisition research.
Gregory Lessard is an associate professor in the French Studies Department at Queen's University at Kingston. His research interests include natural language generation and modelling, second language acquisition and computer-aided text analysis.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aarts, J. and W. Meijs, eds. Corpus Linguistics: Recent Developments in the Use of Computer Corpora in English Language Research. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1984.
Anderson, J. R., C. F. Boyle, A. T. Corbett and M. W. Lewis. “Cognitive Modelling and Intelligent Tutoring.” Artificial Intelligence, 42 (1990), 7–49.
Bailin, A. “Intelligent Computer-Assisted Language Instruction.” Computers and the Humanities, 23 (1989), 3–11.
Birdsong, D. Metalinguistic Performance and Interlinguistic Competence. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1989.
Bresnan, J. et al. Lexical-Functional Grammar. Stanford University: Linguistics Institute, 1987.
Chomsky, N. Aspects of the Theory of Syntax. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1965.
Chomsky, N. Lectures on Government and Binding: The Pisa Lectures. Dordrecht: Foris, 1981.
Dahl, V. “Discontinuous Grammars.” Computational Intelligence, 5 (1989), 161–79.
Dahlgren, K. Naive Semantics for Natural Language Understanding. IBM Los Angeles Scientific Center Report 1987–2817, 1987.
Dale, R., C. Mellish and M. Zock. Current Research in Natural Language Generation. London: Academic Press, 1990.
Danlos, L. The Linguistic Basis of Text Generation. Translated by Dominique Debize and Colin Henderson. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987.
Derensart, P. and M. Jourdan, eds. Attribute Grammars and their Applications. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1990.
Dijkstra, E. W. A Discipline of Programming. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1976.
Friedman, J. A Computer Model of Transformational Grammar. Mathematical Linguistics and Automatic Language Processing, no 9. New York: Elsevier, 1971.
Gazdar G. E., G. Klein, G. Pullum and I. Sag. Generalized Phrase Structure Grammar. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1985.
Gazdar, G. and C. Mellish. Natural Language Processing in PROLOG: An Introduction to Computational Linguistics. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1989.
Hovy, E. H. “Some Pragmatic Decision Criteria in Generation.” In Natural Language Generation. Ed. E. Kempen. Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff, 1987, pp. 3–18.
Hovy E. H. “Approaches to the Planning of Coherent Text.” In Natural Language Generation in Artificial Intelligence and Computational Linguistics. Ed. C. Paris, W. R. Swartout and W. C. Mann Boston: Kluwer, 1991, pp. 83–102.
Jackendoff R. X-bar Syntax: A Study of Phrase Structure. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1977.
Kaplan, R. M. and J. Bresnan “Lexical-Functional Grammar: A Formal System for Grammatical Representation.” In The Mental Representation of Grammatical Relations. Ed. J. Bresnan, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1982, pp. 173–281.
Kempen, E., ed. Natural Language Generation. Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff, 1987.
Lessard, G. “Modelling Performance Errors in Advanced Learners of French.” AILA Conference, Thessaloniki, Greece, 1990.
Lessard, G. and M. Levison. “Using a Sentence Generator for Teaching Introductory Linguistics.” ACH Conference on Computers in Humanities Teaching, Fordham University, New York, 1990.
Lessard, G., M. Levi son and M. Olsen. “Possible and Impossible Pronouns: The Role of Textbases and Natural Language Generation in Linguistic Research.” ALLC/ACH Conference, Siegen, Germany, 1990. (To appear in Research in Humanities Computing, Oxford University Press.)
Lessard, G., M. Levison and M. Olsen. “Agreement Variation in French Coordinate Constructions: the Case of ou.” Linguistic Symposium on Romance Languages, Santa Barbara, California, 1991.
Levison, M. and G. Lessard. “The Role of Attributes in Natural Language Sentence Generation.” in Attribute Grammars and their Applications. Ed. P. Derensart and M. Jourdan. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1990, pp. 298–312.
Levison, M. and G. Lessard. A Transformation Mechanism for Natural Language Sentence Generation. Queen's University, Department of Computing and Information Science Technical Report, 1991.
Mcdonald, D. D. and L. Bolc, eds. Natural Language Generation Systems. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1988.
McKeown K. Text Generation: Using Discourse Strategies and Focus Constraints to Generate Natural Language Text. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985.
Moore J. D. and W. R. Swartout. “A Reactive Approach to Explanation: Taking the User's Feedback into Account.” In Natural Language Generation in Artificial Intelligence and Computational Linguistics. Ed. C. Paris, W. R. Swartout and W. C. Mann. Boston: Kluwer, 1991, pp. 3–48.
Papakonstantinou, G. K. and J. Kontos. “Knowledge Representation with Attribute Grammars.” Computer Journal, 29 (1986), 241–45.
Paris C., W. R. Swartout and W. C. Mann, eds. Natural Language Generation in Artificial Intelligence and Computational Linguistics. Boston: Kluwer, 1991.
Patten, T. and G. Ritchie. “A Formal Model of Systemic Grammar.” In Natural Language Generation. Ed. E. Kempen Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff, 1987, pp. 279–300.
Sleeman D. and J. S. Brown. Intelligent Tutoring Systems. New York: Academic Press, 1982.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Michael Levison is professor and Head of the Department of Computing and Information Science at Queen's University at Kingston. His research interests include natural language generation and editing systems. He has written many articles on computer applications in literary studies, and is a co-author of The Settlement of Polynesia: A Computer Simulation (University of Minnesota Press, 1973).
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Levison, M., Lessard, G. A system for natural language sentence generation. Comput Hum 26, 43–58 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00114887
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00114887