Treating 'Free Word Order' in Machine Translation

In free word order languages, every s('.ni;cn(:(~ is cml)eddcd in its specific contexL The order of consl;ituenLs is d('tcrmincd l)y the categories theme, t heme and contrastive J'oc'us. This paper shows [low to recognisc mid to transhti,e these cat;egorles autom;~t;ically on ;~ serH,e.ntial basis, so that SCilI;ClIC(.' ('ml)edding; can I)c' achieved wit;houL having i;o tel'e,' 1,o l,h(', co,> t;cxt. Tradition,dly neglected modit ier ch~sses are fully covered by the proposc'd mc'Lhod. 1 I n t r o d u c t i o n Most languages known as free word order hmgv, ages are in facl; languages wil;ll parl, ially J)'ee wonl order (]';ngcN(amp el, al. 1 9 9 2 ) , or ra ther free phrase order (Schi;ufelc 1991). A diflicul ty linl(cd to the form;d de.scription of i,}w.sc languages is tha t instead o17 a (:ompletc lack of ordering rules many sul)l, le rcsi;ricl, ions aljply. A large arrlounl, of wor(t or(lcr v;triai;ions ;trc gratnmi~t;ical in isoh~t<.d sct,tc, , :es, but co,,text restr icts the numl)er o1" s(K|uen(:es wllicli are possible and ilal;l~ll:al. Ill l,}lis s(.'llSC 1 Sellfences air(', era, bedded in their context . A slw.cific context calls for a certain word order, an(l the word order of a given senl, ence rcflect, s il,s conl;exl;. : ]n 1;his p;,pe,', we present ,'ccerit suggesLions on how 1;o treat, free lJhras(, order in N;d,ural L~nguagc Processing (N],P) , and [)?(?sent an alternative' solution t,o the problem. The id&~ is t o u s e a the7nat ieal l~t .#ged, or fle:,:ihie, canonical form ( C I " ) f o r generat ion, and an algorithm to recognise the. re, levant catcgorics Ihe , te , "theme ;rod cont?'asZhm ./be'us du,'iilg ;m;dy.sis. 'l'his ,ncthod has })cc'n implcmctited successfully itl the u,tiflc;d, ion and constrainl.-basc'd M~vchine Tr;mslal,i(m sysl;em CAT2 (Sharp 71989, Sl;cinlmrgcr 1992a). I1, it> (:ludcs i;he ordering of ,nodi tiers, which arc l, radil;ionally lcfI. oul; {,, wo,'d or(It,' desc,'il)l, iot, (C.o,,lo,,/l,;vet,s 71!1!)2). All stat;e, nc,~ts in (,his pN)cr concern writi,(m hmguage, ;~s spoken h.lgu;tgjc is more ]i])er;d wil, h rcsl)eCl; to ordering.