A Procedure for Quantitatively Comparing the Syntactic Coverage of English Grammars

The problem of quantitatively comparing tile performance of different broad-coverage grammars of English has to date resisted solution. Prima facie, known English grammars appear to disagree strongly with each other as to the elements of even tile simplest sentences. For instance, the grammars of Steve Abney (Bellcore), Ezra Black (IBM), Dan Flickinger (IIewlett Packard), Claudia Gdaniec (Logos), Ralph Grishman and Tomek Strzalkowski (NYU), Phil Harrison (Boeing), Don tfindle (AT&T), Bob Ingria (BBN), and Mitch Marcus (U. of Pennsylvania) recognize in common only the following constituents, when each grammarian provides the single parse which he/she would ideally want his/her grammar to specify for three sample Brown Corpus sentences: The famed Yankee Clipper, now retired, has been assisting (as (a batting coach)). One of those cai)ital-gains ventures, ill fact, has saddled him (with Gore Court). lie said this constituted a (very serious) misuse (of the (Criminal court) processes).