A Unification-based, Integrated Natural Language Processing System

Jklmtract--This paper presents a mstural language processing (NLP) system called LINK. LINK is unification-based, and incorporates a.nd extends many features which have been emersin8 from other NLP research in recent years. In particular, the notions of a ~ t o n o m o s s ayn|a~ and compositional seman{ies, long staples of NLP systems, have been replaced by a 8ranmuu" which is much more complex, semantics-oriented, and more reliant on idiomatic constructions; and a semantics which is noncompositional. Processins, also, has been changed from the traditional syntax-driven approach, to an approach which relies much more heavily on semantics and domain knowledge, represented in a semantic net. As a result, LINK is able to efficiently process ungranmmtical sentences, as well as nonliteral constructions such as metaphor mad metonymy. These tasks have been difficult for more traditional NLP systenm.