Testing a Grammar Customization System with Sahaptin

I briefly describe a system for automatically creating an implemented grammar of a natural language based on answers to a web-based questionnaire, then present a grammar of Sahaptin, a language of the Pacific Northwest with complex argument-marking and agreement patterns, that was developed to test the system. The development of this grammar has proved useful in three ways: (1) verifying the correct functioning of the grammar customization system, (2) motivating the addition of a new pattern of agreement to the system, and (3) making detailed predictions that uncovered gaps in the linguistic descriptions of Sahaptin.

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2010
• Where: NAACL
• Authors: Scott Drellishak
• Keywords: Computational Linguistics, Grammar, Grammar Customization, Implemented Grammar, NAACL 2010