Toru Sugimoto, Noriko Ito, Shino Iwashita, and Michio Sugeno

Abstract:
We present a processing model of a natural language interface that accepts task specification texts consisting of more than one sentence. Such an interface enables users to easily specify complex requests as coherent texts, in other words, to write a program in everyday language, to operate computing systems. Corresponding to the characteristics of task specification texts, processing consists of paraphrasing, detection of loop structures, and executable program generation using rhetorical information. Algorithms have been fully implemented in our everyday language programming system that deals with personal email management tasks. In this paper, we explain our processing model using an example from the email management domain, give evaluation results, and discuss its effectiveness and future work.

Keywords: everyday language, paraphrasing, rhetorical structure, program generation