Key words: cognition

The paper demonstrates the possibility of deriving, from the Correlational Grammar developed solely for the purpose of automatic sentence analysis, a classification of words that could be useful in language analysis and language teaching. A group of some 90 frequent English adjectives serves as example; they are sorted into ten classes according to their behavior in strings of the type “John is easy to please,"“John is eager to please,"“John is likely to please,” etc. It is suggested that the members of a least some of these classes show common semantic features that could be used to obtain intensional definitions which would theoretically confirm the empirically derived extensional definitions supplied by correlational grammar.

Key words: Adjectives, Discourse Analysis, English, Grammar, Kernel Sentences, Phrase Structure, Semantics, Sentence Structure, Structural Analysis, Structural Grammar, Syntax

The second version of the Multistore Sentence Analysis System, implemented on an IBM 360/65, uses a correlational grammar to parse English sentences and displays the parsings as hierarchical syntactic structures comparable to tree diagrams. Since correlational syntax comprises much that is usually considered semantic information, the system demonstrates ways and means of resolving certain types of ambiguity that are frequent obstacles to univocal sentence analysis. Particular emphasis is given to the “significant address” method of programming which was developed to speed up the procedure (processing times, at present, are 0.5–1.5 seconds for sentences up to 16 words). By structuring an area of the central core in such a way that the individual location of bytes becomes significant, the shifting of information is avoided; the use of binary masks further simplifies the many operations of comparison required by the procedure. Samples of print-out illustrate some salient features of the system.

Key words: Computational Linguistics, Computer Programs, English, Form Classes (Languages), Kernel Sentences, Language Patterns, Machine Translation, Phrase Structure, Programing, Semantics, Sentence Structure, Structural Analysis, Structural Grammar, Syntax

A similarity between the concepts of reproduction and explanation is observed which implies a similarity between the less well understood concepts of complete self-reproduction and complete self-explanation. These latter concepts are shown to be independent from ordinary loglcal-mathematical-biological reasoning, and a special form of complete selfreproduction is shown to be axiomatizable. Involved is the question whether there exists a function that belongs to its own domain or range. Previously, Wittgenstein has argued, on intuitive grounds, that no function can be its own argument. Similarly, Rosen has argued that a paradox is implied by the notion of a function which is a member of its own range. Our result shows that such functions indeed are independent from ordinary logical-mathematical reasoning, but that they need not imply any inconsistencies, Instead such functions can be axiomatized, and in this sense they really do exist. Finally, the introduced notion of complete self-reproduction is compared with “self-reproduction” of ordinary biological language. It is pointed out that complete self-reproduction is primarily of interest in connection with formal theories of evolution.