Automatic error-correction in natural languages

Automatic error-correction in natural language processing is based on the principle of 'elastic matching'. Text words are segmented into 'lines' with letters arranged according to a pre-determined sequence, and then matched line-by-line, shifts being applied if the numbers of lines are unequal. In order to resolve the possible multiple choices produced, the method may be supplemented by another one, based on the observed repetition of words in natural texts, and also by syntactic analysis. This paper describes the above methods and gives an account of an experiment now in progress at the National Physical Laboratory.