COURSE ANNOUNCEMENT HPSG Grammars and Typed Feature Formalisms Advanced, hands-on course taught by The Edinburgh University Language Technology Group December 11-14, 1995 Edinburgh This course will provide practical and theoretical experience for people wishing to learn about today's state-of-the-art grammar writing technology. At the end of the course, participants will be able to write sign-based grammars using leading-edge language engineering tools. This is a hands-on course: each participant will have access to substantial computing facilities throughout the course, and assisted practical exercises are integrated into the course structure. Background Modern constraint-based grammars are the next logical step for people familiar either with Prolog or unification-based formalisms such as Generalised Phrase Structure Grammar (GPSG). A recent constraint-based approach is Head Driven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG) [Pollard and Sag, 1994]. HPSG has taken the computational linguistics community by storm and is the driving force in research into grammars that can be readily integrated into practical application systems. Syllabus This intensive, lab-based course will bring you up-to-date with the above developments, providing you with: - An introduction to today's state-of-the-art typed feature formalisms, especially ALE (Attribute Logic Engine) and CUF (Comprehensive Unfication Formalism). Both ALE from Carnegie-Mellon University and CUF from the University of Stuttgart provide a typed unification-based engine for developing, testing and debugging constraint-based grammars such as HPSG grammars. - An introduction to HPSG based on Chapter 9 of [Pollard and Sag,1994], which contains the most recent advancements of the theory. - An in-depth guide to programming in typed feature formalisms. - A detailed look at what is involved in developing complex grammars for particular domains. Participants in the course will: - Learn about HPSG. - Use the latest tools and technology for developing HPSG grammars. - Acquire skills in designing and debugging grammars. Dates The course is 4 days long and is next scheduled for December 11-14 1995. Due to the hands-on nature of the course, there is a limit to class numbers. Early registration is advisable. Teaching Staff The classes are taught by staff of Edinburgh's Language Technology Group: Suresh Manandhar (PhD in Artificial Intelligence, Edinburgh University) has conducted research both in the logical foundations of constraint formalisms and on their implementations. Claire Grover (PhD in Linguistics, Essex University) has been extensively involved in developing large grammars using constraint formalisms. Chris Brew (PhD in Experimental Psychology, Sussex University) has conducted research in several areas including constraint-based formalisms, systemic grammars and statistical methods. Henry Thompson (PhD in Linguistics, University of California) is reader at the Department of Artificial Intelligence, Edinburgh University and has been involved in research in computational linguistics, data-intensive linguistics, language corpora and corpus management. Venue The classes will be taught at the Human Commmunication Research Centre in Edinburgh. Contact The fee for the course is 650 pounds (industrial), 550 pounds (academic) and 250 pounds (student). Please contact: for registration details: for course details: Heike Stoldt (Course Administration) Suresh Manandhar (Course Co-ordinator) Human Communication Research Centre Human Communication Research Centre University of Edinburgh University of Edinburgh 2 Buccleuch Place 2 Buccleuch Place Edinburgh EH8 9LW Edinburgh EH8 9LW Tel: +44 131 650 4427 Tel: +44 131 650 4631 Fax: +44 131 650 4587 Fax: +44 131 650 4587 Email: H.Stoldt@ed.ac.uk Email: Suresh.Manandhar@ed.ac.uk