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This discussion of the use of computer programming in syntactic analysis covers three major points: (1) a review of basic notions in automatic grammars; (2) a description of the grammar used in a pilot project which analysed the linguistic content of methods of teaching foreign languages; and (3) proposals on the application of the same techniques to the study of scientific vocabulary. In the first section, automatic, or generative grammar, is defined as one formulated in such a way as to be applied mechanically in the construction of sentences. In this context the discussion deals with the process of analysis of existing sentences, structural description, formulation of rules, structural ambiguity, and the process for applying rules. The second section dealing with methodology covers the development of a system of analysis of texts with the help of a computer. Things to be considered in this context are lexical ambiguity, identification of rules, levels of syntactic analysis, formulation of rules, and paraphrasing of word groups, locutions, clauses, and sentences. The third section discusses techniques used in analysis of methods as these relate to the study of scientific language, with particular emphasis on the question of words and context. (AMH)

This report treats some of the technical difficulties encountered in lexicological studies that were undertaken in order to establish a basic vocabulary. Its purpose is to show that the computer can overcome some of these difficulties, and specifically that computer programming can serve to establish a vocabulary common to scientific and technical languages. The discussion of the advantages of computer programming centers on the following topics: (1) availability, including a description of the compilation and correction of data, indexing, and programming; and (2) general vocabulary that is scientifically oriented, including a description of the process of choosing and identifying words, and the choice and structure of dictionaries. (AMH)