Parsing with Assertion Sets and Information Monotonicity

G. Edward Barton Jr., Robert C. Berwick

Abstract: We propose a new approach to parsing ambiguity in which a parser always moves forward with the common elements of competing syntactic analyses. The approach involves assertion sets constrained so that in formation is monotonically preserved throughout a parse Asseriion sets have several advantages over trees as a parsing representation. They may also lead to better computational understanding of the attention-shifting mechanism.