A design for a parser for English

Abstract

Most current natural language understanding systems utilize parsers whose control structures are based on simulating non-deterministic machines. This paper presents a design for an implementation of a parser that attempts to operate deterministically. The discussion focuses on mechanisms that allow grammar rules to diagnose what grammatical structure should be built next at each point during the analysis process. An example grammar is presented, and a sample parse is discussed at length to illustrate these mechanisms.