In this paper, we provide a brief description of the multidisciplinary domain of research called Natural Language Processing (NLP), which aims at enabling the computer to deal with natural languages. In accordance with this description, NLP is conceived a

In this paper, we provide a brief description of the multidisciplinary domain of research called Natural Language Processing (NLP), which aims at enabling the computer to deal with natural languages. In accordance with this description, NLP is conceived as “human language engineering or technology”. Therefore, NLP requires consistent description of linguistic facts on every linguistic level: morphological, syntactic, semantic, and even the level of pragmatics and discourse. In addition to the linguistically-motivated conception of NLP, we emphasize the origin of such research field, the place occupied by NLP inside a multidisciplinary scenario, their objectives and challenges. Finally, we provide some remarks on the automatic processing of Brazilian Portuguese language. Key words: natural language processing, human language technology, computational linguistics, linguistics, natural language.