computer science

Language technology

Language technology is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Language technology rather than just read about it. In short: Language technology, often called human language technology (HLT), studies methods of how computer programs or electronic devices can analyze, produce, modify or respond to human texts and speech. Working with language technology often requires broad knowledge not only about linguistics but also about computer science.

Key takeaways

Language technology belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Language technology to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Language technology from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Language technology, often called human language technology (HLT), studies methods of how computer programs or electronic devices can analyze, produce, modify or respond to human texts and speech. Working with language technology often requires broad knowledge not only about linguistics but also about computer science. It consists of natural language processing (NLP) and computational linguistics (CL) on the one hand, many application-oriented aspects of these, and more low-level aspects such as encoding and speech technology on the other hand. Note that these elementary aspects are normally not considered to be within the scope of related terms such as natural language processing and (applied) computational linguistics, which are otherwise near-synonyms. As an example, for many of the world's lesser-known languages, the foundation of language technology is providing communities with fonts and keyboard setups so their languages can be written on computers or mobile devices. Other tools are also part of modern language technology and include machine translation, speech recognition, text processing and natural language processing. Large-scale AI models have recently advanced the field and enhanced the ability of machines to interpret complex human context.

References

External links Johns Hopkins University Human Language Technology Center of Excellence Carnegie Mellon University Language Technologies Institute Institute for Applied Linguistics (IULA) at Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Barcelona, Spain German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) Language Technology Lab CLT: Centre for Language Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden Archived 2017-04-10 at the Wayback Machine The Center for Speech and Language Technologies (CSaLT) at the Lahore University [sic] of Management Sciences (LUMS) Globalization and Localization Association (GALA) ScriptSource, a reference to the writing systems of the world and the remaining needs for supporting them in the computing realm. High Performance Language Technologies (HPLT) development funded by the European Commission.[1]

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Language technology

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Language technology claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Language technology before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Language technology ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Language technology

In research: Language technology appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Language technology in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Language technology is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Computational linguistics stubs, Natural language processing, Natural language processing stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Language technology outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Language technology in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Language technology means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Language technology out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Language technology in simple terms?

Why does Language technology matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Language technology?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Language technology.