Search in linguistic processing

Almost all words and syntactic patterns in human languages have multiple meanings and functions, requiring parsing and production to explore multiple hypotheses before a definite choice can be made. FCG supports standard heuristic search techniques to set up and manage search spaces and employs user-defined goal tests to verify whether acceptable end states have been reached. This chapter uses simple French phrasal constructions to illustrate both mechanisms. It first provides a worked out example without search and then looks at specific cases where search arises and how it is handled.