Graduate Course: GF (Grammatical Framework)
Aarne Ranta
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[GSLT   http://www.gslt.hum.gu.se],
[NGSLT  http://ngslt.org/],
and 
[Department of Computer Science and Engineering http://www.chalmers.se/cse/EN/], 
Chalmers University of Technology and Gothenburg University.

Autumn Term 2007.


=Purpose=

[GF http://www.cs.chalmers.se/~aarne/GF/]
(Grammatical Framework) is a grammar formalism, i.e. a special-purpose
programming language for writing grammars. It is suitable for many
natural language processing tasks, in particular,
- multilingual applications
- systems where grammar-based components are needed for e.g.
  parsing, translation, or speech recognition


The goal of the course is to develop an understanding of GF and 
practical skills in using it.


=Contents=

The course consists of two modules. The first module is a one-week
intensive course (during the first intensive week of GSLT), which
is as such usable as a one-week intensive course for doctoral studies.

The second module is an independent programming project, written
by each student (possibly working in groups) during the Autumn term.
This module ends with a three days' meeting where the projects are
presented and discussed.

The first module goes through the basics of GF, including
- using the GF programming language
- writing multilingual grammars
- using the 
  [GF resource grammar library http://www.cs.chalmers.se/~aarne/GF/lib/resource-1.0/doc/]
- generating speech recognition systems from GF grammars
- using embedded grammars as components of software systems


The lectures follow the
[GF Tutorial http://www.cs.chalmers.se/~aarne/GF/doc/tutorial/gf-tutorial2.html].
Those who just want to do the first module will write a simple application
as their course work during the intensive week.

Those who continue with the second module will choose a more substantial
project. Possible topics are
- building a dialogue system by using GF
- implementing a multilingual document generator 
- experimenting with synthetized multilingual tree banks
- extending the GF resource grammar library



=Prerequisites=

Experience in programming. No earlier natural language processing
experience is necessary.

The course is thus suitable both for GSLT and NGSLT students,
and for graduate students in computer science.

We will in particular welcome students from the Baltic countries
who wish to build resources for their own language in GF.

