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The Computer Journal 1989 32(2):108-121; doi:10.1093/comjnl/32.2.108
© 1989 by British Computer Society
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Constructing Natural Language Interpreters in a Lazy Functional Language

R. Frost1 * ¶ and J. Launchbury2 §

1 School of Computer Science, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario N9B P4, Canada, 2 Department of Computer Science, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, Scotland, UK

In this paper, we describe a method by which language parsers and interpreters may be implemented in a lazy functional programming language. The visual appearance of such interpreters mimics the BNP description of the grammar of the language being interpreted. The method is particularly well suited to the implementation of language interpreters that are based on the principle of ‘rule to rule’ correspondence (in which each production rule of the grammar has a translation rule associated with it). The main objective of the paper is to demonstrate that the method described provides a useful framework within which both grammars and semantic theories of languages many be investigated. We present the method by example: the simple natural language interpreter we construct is based loosely on principles proposed by Richard Montague.

Received January 1988. revised November 1988.

* School of Computer Science, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario N9B P4, Canada

§ Department of Computer Science, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, Scotland

To whom correspondence should be addressed. Each author contributed equally to this work.


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