Slashdot Mirror
A Useful Grammar Checker?
burtdub asks: "With the amount of raw text data available, there seems to be no shortage of ambitious language projects on the horizon, from Universal Language Translators to Junk Email Filtering. However, the mess that is the English language still seems to elude commercial attempts while being relatively ignored by the open source community. What would it take to make a useful, functional grammar checker?"
All you need is my 7th grade English teacher staring over your shoulder all day.
That'll get you twisted into shape real good.
Remember Linguo? Or am I dating myself? (ew)
1 tbsp of crazy
1 ounce of nuts
4 cups of pure genius
1/2 tsp of wit
5 gallons of caffeine*
*Your product of choice.
What's the point in having artificial stupidity when we have natural stupidity in abundance?
Ahhh the irony of asking Slashdot how to build a grammar checker!
I have absolutely no idea what the appropriate requirements for a grammar checking engine would be.
However, I doubt slashdot would be an appropriate place to seek advice on the subject.
English is a complex and "dirty" language, effective usage can involve breaking what are the accepted rules.
Where's the Kaboom?
There's supposed to be an Earth-shattering Kaboom.
so it will take a miracle.
A possibility is to assign every word in a sentence a number of descriptors (tense, part of speech, etc...) and see if they are in a logical order. For example:
I use a grammer checker.
Nominative Pronoun, present tense transitive action verb, general article for non-vowel sounds, adjective, noun.
Simiilarily, She kick a red ball would have the same pattern.
Assuming that an adequate dictionary is compiled (containing all the descriptors, relying on context for a word such as "grammer" (if before noun, grammer is an adjective, otherwise, it is a noun).
While this system would be very difficult to design, I believe that the basic approach would work.
A grammar checker need I not.
AT&ROFLMAO
1. break text source into a handful of slashdot comments, and submit each comment
2. wait for the inevitable uppity howling condescending grammar nazi to response to whatever grammatical errors exist, however slight or unimportant
3. reassemble text source and apply grammar nazis' edits
voila! grammar checking via redundant network of distributed grammar nazis (tm)
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
I think *I* write grammar checker is ok?
A linguistics professor is giving a lecture. He explains that in English, prescriptive grammar dictates that a double negative creates a positive, for instance "I ain't got no money" would parse as "I have money." He then goes on to explain that in many languages, a double negative creates a more emphatic negative, for instance, in Russian "U menya nyet nichyevo" (literally, "By me is not had nothing") uses two negative phrases to create a stronger negative. Furthermore, the prof explains, in most languages, using two positives will create a more emphatic positive, or at the very least, will not change the meaning of a phrase, for instance "Yes, I have bananas" is fundamentally the same as "I have bananas." However, the proffessor concludes, in no language does a double positive create a negative.
A student, in the back of the class, muttering under his breath, was heard to utter "Yeah, right."
Rhapsody in Numbers
Why would open source people need grammar checkers? All we have to do is post a message to Slashdot and it will be prodded, poked, parsed, and insulted until nothing is left, it's great! Spelling, grammar, translation, jargon checking, and even *^%hole tests are available! We don't even have to be on topic, any message can be submitted....
Here's to losing my Karma Bonus again....
Yes, you right quite are, it's plenty enough superiorly good. Whom was I that did wanted to used they're opened source shit that to?
I use it all the time, it okay'd this posting.
ôó
What's the point in having artificial stupidity when we have natural stupidity in abundance?
:)
Because then we can do it so much FASTER! Imagine a Beowulf cluster of artificially stupid computers - we could replace Bush!
A man's shirt is a feminine object, and a woman's blouse is a masculine object? Why?!
:)
Hey, anything that wants to be pressed against boobies all day can be assumed to be masculine.
...and unless you're using English English instead of American English. The phrase "green campus" is American English phrase, with no direct translation under English English variants.
I once had a US border security guard ask me whether I spoke English. The temptation to reply "My dear chap, I don't just speak it, I am English!" was almost unbearable, but the nearby box of latex gloves convinced me that the more concise "Yes sir" was more appropriate.
(Anyone who thinks that there is such a standard as "British" English has obviously never attempted a conversation with someone from Glasgow.)
Andrew Oakley - www.aoakley.com
What would it take to make a useful, functional grammar checker?
You'd have to find programmers who actually knew correct English grammar.
Geez, that must be like talking to a smurf.
-Eric
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
You know, the funny thing is, I suspect the idea would work.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.