COALA-A computational system for interlanguage analysis

Abstract

This article describes a computational system for the linguistic analysis of language acquisition data (COALA). The system is a combined AI and database tool which allows the user to form highly complex queries about morphosyntactic and semantic structures contained in large sets of data. COALA identifies those sentences that meet the linguistic criteria defined by the user. It allows the user to freely define such linguistic contexts and to step through the sentences identified by the system. COALA then rapidly displays those sentences in their original discourse context. Additionally, COALA can perform statistical analyses in response to structural linguistic queries. This article contains (1) a discussion of the computational approach taken in the design of COALA, (2) a description of the functionality of the system, and (3) a reflection on the validity of the analytical categories contained therein.