A new level of language generation technology: capabilities and possibilities

The different tasks and types of language generation systems are discussed. There are four types of generation systems: canned-text, template, phrase-based, and feature-based systems. Canned text is the simplest way of producing output and is used in the vast majority of software. Templates, the next level of sophistication, are used when a single message must be produced multiple times with slight alterations. Phrases are generalized templates and can be developed to considerable complexity. Features are the limit point of phrase generalization. Each possible minimal alternative of expression is represented by a single feature. These systems can be applied to produce multiparagraph texts, summaries of numerical information, explanations, help systems, multimedia interfaces, software documentation and machine translation. Penman, one of several general-purpose single-sentence generators that are gradually evolving toward full-scale commercial strength, is discussed.<>