US5878386A — Natural language parser with dictionary-based par…

Claim 1

Independent Claim 81 words

In a parser of a natural language processing system, a method comprising the following steps: examining individual dictionary entries for corresponding words in a dictionary; counting, for an individual dictionary entry, a number of senses listed in the dictionary entry which are associated with a part of speech; and deriving a part-of-speech probability indicative of how likely a dictionary entry is to be a particular part of speech based upon the number of senses associated with the particular part of speech.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 81 words

In a parser of a natural language processing system, a method comprising the following steps: examining individual dictionary entries for corresponding words in a dictionary; counting, for an individual dictionary entry, a number of senses listed in the dictionary entry which are associated with a part of speech; and deriving a part-of-speech probability indicative of how likely a dictionary entry is to be a particular part of speech based upon the number of senses associated with the particular part of speech.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 23 words

A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the examining step comprises the step of reading a computer-readable dictionary using a computational device.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 47 words

A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising the following steps: counting a total number of senses for the dictionary entry; and computing the part-of-speech probability as a function of the number of senses counted for the part of speech and the total number of senses.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 53 words

A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising the following steps: counting a number of senses listed in the dictionary entry which are associated with every part of speech; and determining which part of speech is most probable based upon the various numbers of senses associated with the different parts of speech.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 22 words

A method as recited in claim 4, further comprising the step of entering the most probable part of speech into the parser.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 103 words

A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising the following steps: determining whether the dictionary entry is an inflected form of a lexeme accounted for by another dictionary entry; in an event that the dictionary entry is an inflected form, counting a number of senses for each part of speech attributable to the lexeme dictionary entry and a number of senses for each part of speech attributable to the inflected form dictionary entry; and adding the number of senses attributable to the lexeme dictionary entry and the inflected form dictionary entry to derive the part-of-speech probability for the inflected form dictionary entry.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 53 words

A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising the following steps: counting a number of senses listed in the dictionary entry which are associated with every part of speech; and deriving part-of-speech probabilities for all of the parts of speech based upon the number of senses associated with the parts of speech.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 87 words

A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the dictionary entry has first and second parts of speech, further comprising the following steps: counting a first number of senses for the first part of speech and a second number of senses for the second part of speech; modifying at least one of the first and second numbers to increase a difference between the first and second numbers; and deriving part-of-speech probabilities for the first and second parts of speech based on the modified first and second numbers.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 38 words

A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising the following steps: deriving part-of-speech probabilities for many dictionary entries in the dictionary; and saving, as part of the dictionary, the part-of-speech probabilities in correlation with the dictionary entries.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 25 words

A computer-readable dictionary stored in a computer-readable memory which incorporates the part-of-speech probabilities created as a result of the method as recited in claim 9.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 15 words

A computer programmed to perform the steps of the method as recited in claim 1.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 27 words

A computer-implemented rule-based parser stored in a storage medium and executable on a process programmed to perform the steps of the method as recited in claim 1.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 19 words

A computer-readable memory which directs a computer to perform the steps of the method as recited in claim 1.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 110 words

In a natural language processing system for determining which part of speech a word is likely to be in a natural language text, the word being listed in a dictionary with multiple senses attributed thereto, the senses reflecting multiple different parts of speech that the word can assume in different contexts, a method comprising the following steps: counting a number of senses listed in the dictionary for each part of speech that the word can assume; and deriving a part-of-speech probability indicative of how likely the word is to be a particular part of speech based upon the number of senses counted in conjunction with the particular part of speech.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 110 words

In a natural language processing system for determining which part of speech a word is likely to be in a natural language text, the word being listed in a dictionary with multiple senses attributed thereto, the senses reflecting multiple different parts of speech that the word can assume in different contexts, a method comprising the following steps: counting a number of senses listed in the dictionary for each part of speech that the word can assume; and deriving a part-of-speech probability indicative of how likely the word is to be a particular part of speech based upon the number of senses counted in conjunction with the particular part of speech.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 48 words

A method as recited in claim 14, further comprising the following steps: counting a total number of senses listed in the dictionary; and computing the part-of-speech probability as a function of the number of senses counted for the particular part of speech and the total number of senses.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 41 words

A method as recited in claim 14, further comprising the following steps: deriving a part-of-speech probability for each part of speech that the word can assume; and determining which of the parts of speech is most probable from the part-of-speech probabilities.

Claim 19

Dependent Claim 36 words

A method as recited in claim 14, further comprising the following steps: deriving part-of-speech probabilities for multiple words in the dictionary; and saving, as part of the dictionary, the part-of-speech probabilities in correlation with the words.

Claim 20

Dependent Claim 25 words

A computer-readable dictionary stored in a computer-readable memory which incorporates the part-of-speech probabilities created as a result of the method as recited in claim 17.

Claim 21

Dependent Claim 15 words

A computer programmed to perform the steps of the method as recited in claim 14.

Claim 22

Dependent Claim 27 words

A computer-implemented rule-based parser stored in a storage medium and executable on a process programmed to perform the steps of the method as recited in claim 14.

Claim 23

Dependent Claim 19 words

A computer-readable memory which directs a computer to perform the steps of the method as recited in claim 14.

Claim 24

Dependent Claim 104 words

In a natural language processing system for determining which part of speech a word is likely to be in a natural language text, the word being listed in a dictionary with multiple senses attributed thereto, the senses reflecting multiple different parts of speech that the word can assume in different contexts, a method comprising the following steps: counting a number of senses listed in the dictionary for each part of speech that the word can assume; and using the number of senses counted for each part of speech as an indication of how likely the word is to be a particular part of speech.

Claim 25

Dependent Claim 104 words

In a natural language processing system for determining which part of speech a word is likely to be in a natural language text, the word being listed in a dictionary with multiple senses attributed thereto, the senses reflecting multiple different parts of speech that the word can assume in different contexts, a method comprising the following steps: counting a number of senses listed in the dictionary for each part of speech that the word can assume; and using the number of senses counted for each part of speech as an indication of how likely the word is to be a particular part of speech.

Claim 26

Dependent Claim 29 words

A method as recite in claim 22, further comprising the step of initializing the parser to parse beginning with the part of speech having a highest number of senses.

Claim 27

Dependent Claim 15 words

A computer programmed to perform the steps of the method as recited in claim 22.

Claim 28

Dependent Claim 27 words

A computer-implemented rule-based parser stored in a storage medium and executable on a process programmed to perform the steps of the method as recited in claim 22.

Claim 29

Dependent Claim 19 words

A computer-readable memory which directs a computer to perform the steps of the method as recited in claim 22.

Claim 30

Dependent Claim 135 words

In a natural language processing system, a method comprising the following steps: generating, for lexemes listed as dictionary entries in a dictionary, inflected forms of the lexemes; for each lexeme, counting a number of senses for each part of speech attributable to the lexeme in the dictionary; for each inflected form, counting a number of senses for each part of speech attributable to the inflected form and adding, for each part of speech, the number of senses attributable to the inflected form and the number of senses attributable to the lexeme from which the inflected form is generated; and deriving, for each lexeme and inflected form, a part-of-speech probability indicative of how likely the lexeme or inflected form is to be a particular part of speech based upon the senses counted in said counting steps.

Claim 31

Dependent Claim 135 words

In a natural language processing system, a method comprising the following steps: generating, for lexemes listed as dictionary entries in a dictionary, inflected forms of the lexemes; for each lexeme, counting a number of senses for each part of speech attributable to the lexeme in the dictionary; for each inflected form, counting a number of senses for each part of speech attributable to the inflected form and adding, for each part of speech, the number of senses attributable to the inflected form and the number of senses attributable to the lexeme from which the inflected form is generated; and deriving, for each lexeme and inflected form, a part-of-speech probability indicative of how likely the lexeme or inflected form is to be a particular part of speech based upon the senses counted in said counting steps.

Claim 32

Dependent Claim 20 words

A method as recited in claim 27, further comprising the step of reading a computer-readable dictionary using a computational device.

Claim 33

Dependent Claim 61 words

A method as recited in claim 27, further comprising the following steps: reading a computer-readable dictionary using a computational device, the computer-readable dictionary having dictionary entries that are substantially lexemes; and expanding the computer-readable dictionary to include dictionary entries for inflected forms of the lexemes; and using the expanded dictionary as a source for counting the senses in said counting steps.

Claim 34

Dependent Claim 38 words

A method as recited in claim 27, further comprising the following steps: repeating the counting steps for every part of speech attributable to a lexeme or an inflected form; deriving multiple part-of-speech probabilities for every part of speech.

Claim 35

Dependent Claim 31 words

A method as recited in claim 30, further comprising the following steps: determining which part of speech is most probable; and entering the most probable part of speech into the parser.

Claim 36

Dependent Claim 25 words

A method as recited in claim 30, further comprising the step of saving the multiple part-of-speech probabilities in correlation with the lexeme or inflected form.

Claim 37

Dependent Claim 24 words

A computer-readable dictionary stored in a computer-readable memory having the part-of-speech probabilities created as a result of the method as recited in claim 32.

Claim 38

Dependent Claim 15 words

A computer programmed to perform the steps of the method as recited in claim 27.

Claim 39

Dependent Claim 28 words

A computer-implemented rule-based parser stored in a storage s medium and executable on a process programmed to perform the steps of the method as recited in claim 27.

Claim 40

Dependent Claim 19 words

A computer-readable memory which directs a computer to perform the steps of the method as recited in claim 27.

Claim 41

Independent Claim 64 words

A method for parsing a natural language text comprising the following steps: counting a number of senses listed in a dictionary that are associated with a part of speech; deriving a part-of-speech probability as a function of the number of senses associated with the part of speech; and choosing a part of speech for a word in the text based upon the part-of-speech probability.

Claim 42

Independent Claim 64 words

A method for parsing a natural language text comprising the following steps: counting a number of senses listed in a dictionary that are associated with a part of speech; deriving a part-of-speech probability as a function of the number of senses associated with the part of speech; and choosing a part of speech for a word in the text based upon the part-of-speech probability.

Claim 43

Dependent Claim 43 words

A method as recited in claim 37 further comprising the step of initially choosing, for the word, a part of speech with a highest part-of-speech probability as determined by the part of speech having a highest number of senses listed in the dictionary.

Claim 44

Dependent Claim 46 words

A method as recited in claim 37 further comprising the step of sequentially choosing, for the word, parts of speech in decreasing order of part-of-speech probabilities as determined by the number of senses given for each part of speech attributable to the word in the dictionary.

Claim 45

Dependent Claim 15 words

A computer programmed to perform the steps of the method as recited in claim 37.

Claim 46

Dependent Claim 27 words

A computer-implemented rule-based parser stored in a storage medium and executable on a process programmed to perform the steps of the method as recited in claim 37.

Claim 47

Dependent Claim 19 words

A computer-readable memory which directs a computer to perform the steps of the method as recited in claim 37.

Claim 48

Independent Claim 78 words

A method for parsing a natural language text to determine which part of speech a word assumes within the text comprising the following steps: counting a number of senses listed in a dictionary which are associated with a part of speech for the word; determining the part of speech with a highest number of senses listed in the dictionary; and choosing, for an initial parse, the part of speech for the word with the highest number of senses.

Claim 49

Independent Claim 78 words

A method for parsing a natural language text to determine which part of speech a word assumes within the text comprising the following steps: counting a number of senses listed in a dictionary which are associated with a part of speech for the word; determining the part of speech with a highest number of senses listed in the dictionary; and choosing, for an initial parse, the part of speech for the word with the highest number of senses.

Claim 50

Independent Claim 85 words

An apparatus for determining which part of speech a word is likely to be in a natural language text, comprising: a sense counter to scan words from a machine-readable dictionary and to count, for each word, a number of senses associated with each part of speech attributable to the word; and a computational unit to compute, for each word, part-of-speech probabilities indicative of how likely the word is to be particular parts of speech based upon the number of senses counted by the sense counter.

Claim 51

Independent Claim 85 words

An apparatus for determining which part of speech a word is likely to be in a natural language text, comprising: a sense counter to scan words from a machine-readable dictionary and to count, for each word, a number of senses associated with each part of speech attributable to the word; and a computational unit to compute, for each word, part-of-speech probabilities indicative of how likely the word is to be particular parts of speech based upon the number of senses counted by the sense counter.

Claim 52

Dependent Claim 55 words

An apparatus as recited in claim 44, wherein: the sense counter counts a total number of senses for all parts of speech attributable to the word; and the computational unit computes the part-of-speech probabilities as a function of the number of senses counted for each associated part of speech and the total number of senses.

Claim 53

Dependent Claim 106 words

An apparatus as recited in claim 44, wherein: the machine-readable dictionary contains words in lexeme form and inflected forms of the lexeme form; in an event that the word is an inflected form, the sense counter counts a number of senses associated with each part of speech attributable to the lexeme form of the word and a number of senses associated with each part of speech attributable to the inflected form of the word; and the computational unit adding the counts from the sense counter for both the lexeme and inflected forms for use in deriving the part-of-speech probabilities for the inflected form of the word.

Claim 54

Dependent Claim 81 words

An apparatus as recited in claim 44, wherein: the word has first and second parts of speech; the sense counter counts a first number of senses for the first part of speech and a second number of senses for the second part of speech; and the computational unit modifies at least one of the first and second numbers to increase a difference between the first and second numbers and computes the part-of-speech probabilities based on the modified first and second numbers.

Claim 55

Dependent Claim 13 words

A computerized rule-based parser processing system comprising the apparatus recited in claim 44.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	2002-03-01	2002-08-31	2003-03-02	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	2006-03-01	2006-08-31	2007-03-02	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	2010-03-01	2010-08-31	2011-03-02	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Natural language parser with dictionary-based part-of-speech probabilities

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