Language As a Cognitive Process: Syntax

In writing this book, I had several different purposes in mind. First, it is a textbook for students beginning graduate work in computer science or linguistics. It includes detailed technical material and exercises designed to help the student master a body of concepts and techniques. Second, it is a practical guide for people who are building computer systems that deal with natural language. It is not structured as a 'how-to' book, but it describes the relevant techniques in detail and includes an extensive outline of English grammar, which should be useful in both the design and testing of systems. Third, it is a reference source with many pointers into the literature of both linguistics and computer science. Although it is not an encyclopedic survey, I have attempted to introduce a wide variety of material in order to provide newcomers with broad access to the field.
Each chapter includes suggestions for further reading, and there is an extensive bibliography. In both linguistics and computer science there is an 'underground literature' of unpublished dissertations, mimeographed papers, and local technical reports. Many papers find their way into more solid print many years later or not at all. However, I have tried whenever possible to limit the references to easily available material—books, journals, and published conference proceedings. Finally, one of my most deeply felt purposes was to convey my own wonderment at the intricacy of human language and at the kind of creature we are that we may master it.