Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Fall 2019 - LING 807 G100

Computational Linguistics (3)

Class Number: 2597

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 3 – Dec 2, 2019: Tue, 2:30–4:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

    Sep 3 – Dec 2, 2019: Thu, 2:30–3:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Introduction to theoretical and applied issues in the computational processing of natural language.

COURSE DETAILS:

This course is an introduction to theoretical and applied issues in computational linguistics. Computational Linguistics (or Natural Language Processing) refers to the processing of human languages through computers, which is mostly an applied venture. It also covers theoretical aspects, such as the computational modeling of language processing phenomena, and it overlaps with research in psychology and neurolinguistics.

In this course, we will survey the field, and study a few specific applications. No previous knowledge of programming is required (although it would be an asset). Classes will consist of lectures, drawing on material from the main textbooks, but also from other sources (to be distributed throughout the semester). In each class, there will also be a practical part, where we will learn some basics of programming, and will experiment with existing natural language processing systems.

Grading

  • Assignments 40%
  • Participation and class presentation 20%
  • Project 20%
  • Term Paper 20%

NOTES:

Students should familiarize themselves with the Department's Standards on Class Management and Student Responsibilities at http://www.sfu.ca/linguistics/undergraduate/standards.html.

Please note that a grade of “FD” (Failed-Dishonesty) may be assigned as a penalty for academic dishonesty.  

All student requests for accommodations for their religious practices must be made in writing by the end of the first week of classes or no later than one week after a student adds a course.

  Students requiring accommodations as a result of a disability must contact the Centre for Accessible Learning (caladmin@sfu.ca).

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

We will be drawing from the following three textbooks, all available online:

Bird, S., E. Klein and E. Loper (2009) Natural Language Processing with Python, O’Reilly Media. Related web page, and full online book: http://www.nltk.org/book

Eisenstein, Jacob (2018) Natural Language Processing. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press (forthcoming). Current draft: https://github.com/jacobeisenstein/gt-nlp-class/tree/master/notes

Jurafsky, Dan and James H. Martin (2018) Speech and Language Processing. Current draft: https://web.stanford.edu/~jurafsky/slp3/  

Graduate Studies Notes:

Important dates and deadlines for graduate students are found here: http://www.sfu.ca/dean-gradstudies/current/important_dates/guidelines.html. The deadline to drop a course with a 100% refund is the end of week 2. The deadline to drop with no notation on your transcript is the end of week 3.

Registrar Notes:

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating.  Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community.  Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS