aug 1, 1969 - Vaughan Pratt thesis: Translation of English into Logical Expressions

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The thesis "Translation of English into Logical Expressions" by Vaughan Pratt (1969) presents a new approach to natural language translation that is based on context-free grammars. The thesis argues that this approach is more practical than transformational grammars, and it can be used to solve a variety of problems, such as syllogisms. The thesis also discusses the limitations of context-free grammars, and it proposes a way to overcome these limitations using indexed grammars.

Pratt developed a program to run on a 4K (6k byte) PDP-8 to translate Lewis Carroll's syllogisms into logical form.

He would go on to work with Kenneth Colby on his PARRY project (early chatbot) the following summer.

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