Off-line Optimization for Earley-style HPSG Processing

A novel approach to HPSG based natural language processing is described that uses an off-line compiler to automatically prime a declarative grammar for generation or parsing, and inputs the primed grammar to an advanced Earley-style processor. This way we provide an elegant solution to the problems with empty heads and efficient bidirectional processing which is illustrated for the special case of HPSG generation. Extensive testing with a large HPSG grammar revealed some important constraints on the form of the grammar.