Embodied Construction Grammar and the Construction-Based Analyzer
Author: John Bryant (jbryant@icsi.berkeley.edu)
Authors of Code: John Bryant, Nancy Chang, Eva Mok

The Construction-Based Analyzer

• Capabilities
• We've implemented a construction-based analyzer that can take any (almost) arbitrary ECG grammar and robustly analyze utterances.
• It uses robust recognition algorithms and inferential mechanisms to extract the best analysis even when the input is ill-formed.
• Applications
• The analyzer is a part of cognitive model of child-language learning .
• It has been used to analyze child language corpora in English, German and Chinese.
• It has been connected (in an overly simple way) to a simulation-based model of language understanding.
• Downloads
• The analyzer and its associated GUI as a jar.
• Some example grammars
• Email me for the source.
• The system is no longer actively supported by anyone here, but if bugs are uncovered, please let us know.
• The fine print: Neither the authors of the code, the documentation authors, ICSI, or the University of California can be held responsible for anything negative that happens as a result of the software, these instructions or any documents that describe the system or ECG. In other words, if your computer explodes, it's not our fault.
• Documentation
• Instructions for getting the analyzer gui running.
• For ECG grammar writers, a document describing the exact flavor of ECG supported by the analyzer.
• My (old, long) Master's report detailing the algorithms that are used in analysis.

What is Construction Grammar?

• Construction grammar defines grammaticality in terms of both form and function (semantics/pragmatics).
• As a consequence, construction grammar rules are form-meaning pairings.
• Because constructions constrain both form and meaning, construction grammar is in direct conflict with modular approaches.
• The founders of the construction grammar tradition (at least locally): Fillmore Kay, Lakoff

What is Embodied Construction Grammar (ECG) ?

• ECG is a formalism for defining construction grammars that has two important virtues:
• It's semantic notation is designed to be compatible with embodied (cognitively-plausible) meaning.
• It is computationally precise and thus can be implemented
• Thus is has the virtues of HPSG / LFG, but without their non-cognitive drawbacks.
• ECG related papers
• A brief ECG Intro Handout
• The (classical) introductory paper on ECG and Simulation-Based Understanding
• A squib on representing Langacker's ideas in ECG