Natural Language Processing

R18 B.Tech. CSE (AIML) III & IV Year JNTU Hyderabad

Prepared by
K SWAYAMPRABHA
Assistance Professor

UNIT - III

Semantic Parsing
1. Introduction
2. Semantic Interpretation
1 Structural Ambiguity
2 Word Sense
3 Entity and Event Resolution
4 Predicate-Argument Structure
5 Meaning Representation
3 System Paradigms
4 Word Sense
1 Resource

2.Systems

3 Software

Semantic parsing is a technique in natural language processing (NLP) that

involves mapping natural language sentences into structured
representations, such as logical forms or executable code. The goal of
semantic parsing is to enable computers to understand the meaning of
natural language sentences and to perform tasks based on that
understanding.

Here is an example of how semantic parsing works:

Input sentence: "What is the capital of France?"

Semantic representation: {"type": "query",

"target": "capital",

"entity": {"type": "location", "name": "France"}}

In this example, the input sentence is a question that asks for the capital of
France. The semantic representation captures the meaning of the sentence
by identifying the type of the sentence (a query) and the target of the query
(the capital) and the entity to which the query applies (France). The
semantic representation can be used by a computer program to generate an
answer to the question or to perform other tasks based on the query.

Another example:

Input sentence: "Find me the cheapest flight from New York to San
Francisco next Monday."

Semantic representation:

{"type": "query",

"target": "flight",

"filters": [{"type": "location", "name": "New York"},

{"type": "location", "name": "San Francisco"},

{"type": "date", "value": "next Monday"},

{"type": "sort", "key": "price", "order": "asc"}]}

In this example, the input sentence is a request to find the cheapest flight
from New York to San Francisco on the next Monday. The semantic
representation captures the meaning of the sentence by identifying the type
of the sentence (a query), the target of the query (a flight), and a set of
filters that narrow down the search to flights that depart from New York,
arrive at San Francisco, depart on the next Monday, and are sorted by price
in ascending order. The semantic representation can be used by a computer
program to search for flights that match the criteria and to return the
cheapest option.

Semantic Interpretation
Semantic interpretation is the process of assigning meaning to a piece of
language, such as a word, phrase, sentence, or text. It is a fundamental task
in natural language processing (NLP) and involves analyzing language in its
context to infer its intended meaning. The goal of semantic interpretation is
 to enable computers to understand the meaning of natural language and to
perform tasks based on that understanding.

Here are some examples of semantic interpretation:

1. Word Sense Disambiguation: In natural language, many words have multiple

meanings depending on their context. For example, the word "bank" can
refer to a financial institution or the edge of a river. Semantic interpretation
involves determining the correct meaning of a word based on its context.
This task is known as word sense disambiguation.

2. Named Entity Recognition: Another task of semantic interpretation is named

entity recognition, which involves identifying and classifying named entities
such as people, organizations, and locations in a piece of text. For example,
in the sentence "Bill Gates is the founder of Microsoft," semantic
interpretation would recognize "Bill Gates" as a person and "Microsoft" as an
organization.

3. Sentiment Analysis: Semantic interpretation can also be used to perform

sentiment analysis, which involves identifying the sentiment or opinion
expressed in a piece of text. For example, in the sentence "I love this
product," semantic interpretation would recognize a positive sentiment.

4. Question Answering: Semantic interpretation is also used in question

answering, which involves answering a question based on a given piece of
text. Semantic interpretation helps to identify the relevant information in the
text that answers the question.

1. Structural ambiguity can have a significant impact on semantic

interpretation because it can lead to multiple possible interpretations of a
sentence, each with a different meaning. Resolving structural ambiguity is
therefore an important step in semantic interpretation, as it helps to ensure
that the correct meaning of a sentence is understood.

example of how structural ambiguity can impact semantic interpretation:

Sentence: "The old man the boat."

This sentence is structurally ambiguous because it is unclear whether the

man is old or the boat is old. Depending on how the sentence is parsed, it
can be interpreted in two different ways:
1. The man is old: In this interpretation, "the old man" is a noun phrase that
refers to an elderly man who is performing the action of "the boat."
2. The boat is old: In this interpretation, "the old" is an adjective modifying
"boat," and the sentence means that the boat being referred to is old.

In this example, resolving the structural ambiguity is crucial for semantic

interpretation because it determines the identity of the subject of the
sentence and therefore the meaning of the sentence as a whole.

2. Word sense is a crucial aspect of semantic interpretation as it

determines the meaning of a word in a given context. Words often have
multiple meanings or senses, and understanding which sense of a word is
being used in a particular context is essential for accurate semantic
interpretation.

Here is an example of word sense in semantic interpretation:

Sentence: "I saw a bat in the park."

The word "bat" has multiple senses, including a flying mammal or a piece of
sports equipment. In this context, the word "bat" likely refers to the animal
sense, but without further context, it is not entirely clear. If the sentence
were "I hit the bat with a stick," the sense of "bat" would be more apparent.

Another example is the word "bank," which can have multiple meanings
depending on the context. It can refer to a financial institution or the edge of
a river. Consider the following sentences:

 "I need to go to the bank to withdraw some money."

 "The children played by the bank of the river."

In the first sentence, "bank" refers to a financial institution, while in the

second sentence, it refers to the edge of a river. Understanding the correct
sense of "bank" in each context is essential for accurate semantic
interpretation.

Entity and event resolution are important aspects of semantic interpretation

that involve identifying and extracting information about entities (such as
people, places, and organizations) and events (such as actions, states, and
processes) from text.

Here is an example of entity resolution in semantic interpretation:

Sentence: "John Smith works at Google in New York City."

In this sentence, "John Smith" is an entity (a person), "Google" is an entity

(an organization), and "New York City" is an entity (a location). Entity
resolution involves identifying and extracting these entities from the text and
linking them to their corresponding types (e.g., person, organization, or
location).

Event resolution involves identifying and extracting information about events

from text. For example:

Sentence: "The dog chased the cat up the tree."

In this sentence, the event is the action of the dog chasing the cat. Event
resolution involves identifying and extracting information about the action,
including the actors (the dog and the cat) and the location (up the tree).

Entity and event resolution can be challenging in natural language

processing because entities and events can be expressed in many different
ways and can be ambiguous. For example, in the sentence "John Smith is
the CEO of XYZ," it may be unclear whether "XYZ" refers to an organization
or a person. Resolving these ambiguities requires a deep understanding of
the context and the syntax of the sentence, as well as knowledge about the
world and common sense reasoning.

3. Predicate-argument structure is an important aspect of semantic

interpretation that involves identifying the relationships between the main
verb (predicate) and its arguments (subjects, objects, and other
complements). Understanding the predicate-argument structure of a
sentence is critical for accurate semantic interpretation because it allows us
to identify the roles and relationships of the various elements in the
sentence.

Here is an example of predicate-argument structure in semantic

interpretation:

Sentence: "The cat chased the mouse."

In this sentence, the predicate is "chased," and its arguments are "cat" (the
subject) and "mouse" (the object). The predicate-argument structure can be
represented as follows:

Predicate: chased Subject: cat Object: mouse

Another example is:

Sentence: "John gave Mary the book."

In this sentence, the predicate is "gave," and its arguments are "John" (the
subject), "Mary" (the indirect object), and "the book" (the direct object). The
predicate-argument structure can be represented as follows:

Predicate: gave Subject: John Indirect object: Mary Direct object: the book

Identifying the predicate-argument structure of a sentence can be

challenging because it requires an understanding of the syntax and
semantics of the sentence. In some cases, the arguments may be omitted or
expressed implicitly, making it difficult to identify the relationships between
the predicate and its arguments.

Meaning representation is the process of representing the meaning of a

sentence or a text in a structured and formal way. The goal of meaning
representation is to capture the underlying meaning of the text, independent
of the surface form of the language used to express it.

Here is an example of meaning representation in semantic interpretation:

Sentence: "John gave Mary the book."

One common way to represent the meaning of this sentence is using a

logical form, which captures the predicate-argument structure of the
sentence and the relationships between the various elements. The logical
form for this sentence could be:

give(john, book, mary)

This logical form represents the meaning of the sentence by capturing the
predicate "give" and its arguments, "john," "book," and "mary," in a
structured and formal way. This logical form can be used to perform various
natural language processing tasks, such as question answering and text
generation.

Another way to represent the meaning of a sentence is using a semantic

graph, which captures the relationships between the various concepts in the
sentence. The semantic graph for the sentence "John gave Mary the book"
could look like th
 +-------+
| John |
+-------+
|
give
|
+------+------+
| | |
book Mary agent
This semantic graph represents the meaning of the sentence by capturing
the relationships between the concepts "John," "Mary," "book," and "give" in
a structured and visual way. This graph can be used to perform various
natural language processing tasks, such as information extraction and
semantic search.

System Paradigms

In computer science, a system paradigm is a fundamental approach or

model for designing and implementing computer systems. Here are some of
the commonly recognized system paradigms:

1. Imperative paradigm: The imperative paradigm is based on the notion of

imperative programming, where a program is a sequence of statements that
change the program state.
The key constructs in imperative programming include variables,
assignments, loops, and conditionals. Most programming languages, such as
C, C++, Java, and Python, are based on the imperative paradigm.

2. Functional paradigm: The functional paradigm is based on the notion of

functional programming, where a program is a set of functions that take
inputs and produce outputs. In functional programming, functions are
treated as first-class citizens, which means they can be passed as arguments
to other functions, returned as results, or stored in data structures.
Examples of functional programming languages include Haskell, Lisp, and
ML.

3. Object-oriented paradigm: The object-oriented paradigm is based on the

notion of objects, which encapsulate data and behavior. Object-oriented
programming is characterized by the concepts of inheritance, polymorphism,
and encapsulation.
 Examples of object-oriented programming languages include Java, C++, and
Python.

4. Event-driven paradigm: The event-driven paradigm is based on the notion

of events, which are generated by the system or the user and are handled
by event handlers. Event-driven programming is commonly used in graphical
user interfaces, where user interactions generate events that are handled by
event handlers.
Examples of event-driven programming languages include JavaScript and
Python.

5. Concurrent paradigm: The concurrent paradigm is based on the notion of

concurrency, where multiple tasks or processes are executed
simultaneously. Concurrent programming is commonly used in systems that
require high performance and scalability, such as web servers and
databases.
Examples of concurrent programming languages include Go and Erlang.

These system paradigms are not mutually exclusive and can be combined in
various ways to design and implement computer systems. For example,
many modern programming languages, such as Java and Python, support
multiple paradigms, including imperative, object-oriented, and functional
programming.

In semantic parsing,

word sense disambiguation is a critical task, as it involves identifying the

correct meaning of a word based on the context in which it is used.

examples of how word sense disambiguation might be performed for the

words "resource," "systems," and "software" in the context of semantic
parsing:

1. Resource:
 In the context of natural resources, the word "resource" might be associated
with concepts such as "sustainability," "conservation," and "environmental
impact."

 In the context of computing, the word "resource" might be associated with

concepts such as "memory," "processing power," and "network bandwidth."
 In the context of human resources, the word "resource" might be associated
with concepts such as "talent acquisition," "employee retention," and "skills
development."

2. Systems:
 In the context of computing, the word "systems" might be associated with
concepts such as "operating systems," "database management systems,"
and "distributed systems."

 In the context of ecology, the word "systems" might be associated with

concepts such as "ecosystems," "food webs," and "biogeochemical cycles."

 In the context of business, the word "systems" might be associated with

concepts such as "supply chain systems," "customer relationship
management systems," and "quality management systems."

3. Software:
 In the context of computing, the word "software" might be associated with
concepts such as "operating systems," "application software," and "system
software."

 In the context of music, the word "software" might be associated with

concepts such as "digital audio workstations," "synthesizers," and
"sequencers."

 In the context of law, the word "software" might be associated with concepts
such as "patentable computer programs," "algorithmic processes," and
"intellectual property laws."