Biased natural language generation

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Biased natural language generation

• Hovys PAULINE
• 1988

Hovy, E.H. (1988) Generating Natural Language
Under Pragmatic Constraints. Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates.
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Goals of the system

• PAULINE Planning and uttering language in
  natural environments
• To produce stylistically appropriate texts from
  a single story representation
• With a set of parameters representing the
  pragmatic circumstances

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Parameters

• Conversational atmosphere (setting)
• time much, some, little
• tone formal, informal, festive
• conditions good, noisy
• Speaker
• knowledge of the topic expert, student, novice
• interest in the topic high, low
• opinions of the topic good, neutral, bad
• emotional state happy, angry, calm

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Parameters

• Hearer
• knowledge of the topic expert, student, novice
• interest in the topic high, low
• opinions of the topic good, neutral, bad
• emotional state happy, angry, calm
• Speaker-Hearer Relationship
• depth of acquaintance friends, acquaintances,
  strangers
• relative social status dominant, equal,
  subordinate
• emotion like, neutral, dislike

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Interpersonal goals

• Hearer
• affect hearers knowledge teach, neutral,
  confuse
• affect hearers opinion of topic switch,
  neutral, none
• involve hearer in the conversation involve,
  neutral, repel
• affect hearers emotional state anger, neutral,
  calm
• affect hearers goals activate, neutral,
  deactivate

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Interpersonal goals

• Speaker-Hearer Relationship
• affect hearers emotion towards speaker respect,
  like, dislike
• affect relative status dominant, equal,
  subordinate
• affect interpersonal distance intimate, close,
  distant

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Generator Decisions

• Topic collection
• topic organisation
• sentence organisation
• content and organisation of sentence constituents
• word choice

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Stylistic rhetorical goals

• Formality highfalutin, normal, colloquial
• simplicity simple, normal, complex
• timidity timid, reckless
• partiality impartial, implicit, explicit
• detail details only, interpretations, both
• haste pressured, unplanned, somewhat planned,
  planned

• force forceful, normal, quiet
• floridity dry, neutral, flowery
• color facts only, with color
• personal reference amount of direct reference to
  speaker/hearer
• openmindedness narrow, open
• respect arrogant, respectful, neutral, cajoling

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Ex.1
Hovys PAULINE
Formality highfalutin
In early April, a shantytown - named Winnie
Mandela city - was erected by several students on
Beinecke Plaza so that Yale University would
divest from companies doing business in South
Africa. Later, at 530 AM on April 14, the
shantytown was destroyed by officials also, at
that time, the police arrested 76 students.
Several local politicians and faculty members
expressed criticism of Yales action. Finally,
Yale gave the students permission to reassemble
the shantytown there and, concurrently, the
university announced that a commission would go
to South Africa in July to investigate the system
of Apartheid.
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Ex.2
Hovys PAULINE
Formality colloquial
Students put a shantytown, Winnie Mandela city,
up on Beinecke Plaza in early April. The students
wanted Yale University to pull their money out of
companies doing business in South Africa.
Officials tore it down at 530 AM on April 14,
and the police arrested 76 students. Several
local politicians and faculty members criticised
the action. Later, Yale allowed the students to
put it up there again. The University said that a
commission would be go to South Africa in July to
study the system of Apartheid
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Ex.3
Slanting the text partiality
Hovys PAULINE
In early April, a small number of students were
involved in a confrontation with Yale University
over Yales investment in companies doing
business in South Africa. The students took over
Beinecke Plaza and constructed a shantytown named
Winnie Mandela city in order to force the
university to divest from those companies. Yale
requested that the students erect it elsewhere,
but they refused to leave. Later, at 530 AM on
April 14, officials had to disassemble the
shantytown. Finally, Yale, being conciliatory
towards the students, not only permitted them to
reconstruct it, but also announced that a
commission would go to South Africa in July to
examine the system of Apartheid
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Ex.4
Slanting the text partiality
Hovys PAULINE
As a reminder to Yale University to divest from
companies doing business in South Africa, a large
number of concerned students erected a shantytown
named Winnie Mandela city on Beinecke Plaza in
April. At 530 AM on April 14, Yale had officials
destroy it also, at that time, the university
had the police arrest 76 students. After the
local communitys huge outcry, Yale permitted the
students to reconstruct the shantytown.
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Ex.5
Hovys PAULINE
Carter and Kennedy were the candidates in a
primary in Michigan on 20 February. Carter lost
to Kennedy by 1335 votes. At present, Kennedy has
a better chance of getting the nomination than
before. Carter is also closer to getting the
nomination than before. Both Carter and Kennedy
want to get the nomination.
Acquaintance colloquial, impartial, details,
somewhat planned
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Ex.6
Hovys PAULINE
Kennedy diminished Carters lead by getting all
of 21850 votes in the primary in Michigan. In a
similar case, Carter decreased Udalls lead in a
primary in 1976, and he easily trounced Udall to
be nominated by 2600 delegates. I am really glad
that Kennedy is now closer to getting the
nomination than before.
Friend colloquial, implicit, detailsinterpretio
ns, planned
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Ex.7
Hovys PAULINE
To the boss colloquial, implicit,
interpretions, pressured