About Me

About me

I am a linguist, a programmer, and also work in computational linguistics. I have a broad background in all of these areas, and have worked in these areas in different capacities, including as a teacher and a developer.

Linguistics

I was brought up in the mainstream tradition of generativist linguistics. Since around 2000, I have largely moved away from generativist approaches. My current views on theoretical linguistics are posted on the "Views on Human Language" page.

Computational Linguistics

I have been working in the crossover area between computers and human language since 1994. Since around 2002, I've been working within the statistical approaches which are now the mainstream approach to natural language processing.

Programming

I have been hacking away at the computers since 1980. I'm self-taught as a programmer, and I know a good bit of the theoretical underpinnings of computer science. I've done things at the level of using yacc and lex to create a programming language. I've been told that my code is very clear, well-structured, and maintainable. I like architecting things.