Template-based generation of natural language expressions with Controlled M-Grammar

A method is described for the generation of related natural-language expressions. The method is based on a formal grammar of the natural language in question, specified in the Controlled M-Grammar (CMG) formalism. In the CMG framework the generation of an utterance is controlled by a derivation tree, which is a semantics-oriented prescription of the order in which the components of the grammar have to be used. The method described here uses templates, partial specifications of derivation trees. Related expressions can be generated by filling up a template in various ways. It will be shown that a considerable number of related expressions can be generated by varying only a small number of items. The method is used for the generation of training material in a computer-aided language-learning (CALL) system