Computational method for collocation and phrase learning

We introduce a method for learning to find the representative syntax-based context of a given collocation/phrase. In our approach, grammatical patterns are extracted for query terms aimed at accelerating lexicographers´ and language learners´ navigation through the word usage and learning process. The method involves automatically lemmatizing, part-of-speech tagging and shallowly parsing the sentences of a large-sized general corpus, and automatically constructing inverted files for quick search. At run-time, contextual grammar patterns are retrieved and presented to users with their corresponding statistical analyses. We present a prototype system, GRASP (grammar- and syntax-based pattern-finder), that applies the method to computer-assisted language learning. Preliminary results show that the extracted patterns not only resemble phrases in grammar books (e.g., make up one´s mind) but are promising in assisting the process of language learning and lexicography.