A novel method for parsing complex sentences in syntactically free languages

Abstract

Free word-order languages cause problems when being analysed due to their great composing power and flexibility. The paper deals with the problems stemming from the analysis of complex sentences as well as with the adoption of suitable grammars to parse them in free word-order languages. Based on a careful study of large Greek corpora, we propose a method for parsing complex sentences in such languages that combines heuristic information and pattern matching techniques in early processing levels. Although this method has been implemented and tested in the Greek language, its theoretical background and results are language independent and can be proved useful for many practical applications.<>