TWI673705B - Natural language understanding system and semantic analysis method - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a natural language understanding system including a semantic analysis module and a processor. The semantic analysis module includes an expression module. The expression module includes a general part and a non-universal part. The non-universal part includes a parameter list. The processor is used to execute a semantic analysis module, so that the semantic analysis module combines the general part and the non-universal part of the expression module. The semantic analysis module provides multiple actual parameters according to the parameter list of the non-generic part of the expression module Go to the general part of the expression module to generate grammar rule data. In addition, a semantic analysis method is also proposed.

Description

Natural language understanding system and semantic analysis method

The present invention relates to a natural language understanding technology, and more particularly, to a natural language understanding system and a semantic analysis method.

In the field of intelligent speech recognition, Natural Language Understanding (NLU) technology is currently an important key technology. Natural language understanding technology can be responsible for extracting key information in user sentences, and can judge the user's intention to perform subsequent processing corresponding to the user's intention. However, in the practical application of rule-based semantic analysis methods, natural language understanding systems need to design corresponding grammar rules for a large number of corpora. However, due to the existence of many similar vocabulary structures in natural language, there are many redundant contents in the corresponding grammatical rules, which leads to an increase in the workload of compiling grammatical rules and the difficulty of maintaining and modifying. In view of this, solutions of several exemplary embodiments will be proposed below.

The invention provides a natural language understanding system and a semantic analysis method, which can generate multiple pieces of grammatical rule data according to an expression module, so as to effectively save the workload of compiling grammatical rules in a natural language understanding system.

The natural language understanding system of the present invention includes a semantic analysis module and a processor. The semantic analysis module includes an expression module, the expression module includes a general part and a non-universal part, and the non-universal part includes a parameter list. The processor is used to execute a semantic analysis module, so that the semantic analysis module combines the general part and the non-universal part of the expression module. The semantic analysis module provides multiple actual parameters according to the parameter list of the non-generic part of the expression module. At least one of them to the general part of the expression module to generate at least one grammar rule data.

A semantic analysis method of the present invention is applicable to a natural language understanding system. The natural language understanding system includes a semantic analysis module. The semantic analysis method includes the following steps: the semantic analysis module is executed so that the semantic analysis module combines the general part and the non-universal part of the expression module, wherein the non-universal part includes a parameter list; The parameter list provides at least one of a plurality of actual parameters to a common part of the expression module to generate at least one grammatical rule data; the semantic analysis module compares corpus data with at least one grammatical rule data to obtain Semantic information corresponding to corpus data.

Based on the above, the natural language understanding system and the semantic analysis method of the present invention can compile the form of the general part and the non-universal part in the expression module, so that By combining the common part of the expression module with the non-common part, multiple pieces of grammar rule data are generated. Therefore, the natural language understanding system and the semantic analysis method of the present invention can effectively save the workload of compiling grammar rules of the natural language understanding system, and can be easily maintained.

In order to make the above features and advantages of the present invention more comprehensible, embodiments are hereinafter described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

100‧‧‧ electronic device

110‧‧‧ processor

120‧‧‧Memory

121‧‧‧ Semantic Analysis Module

122‧‧‧ Expression Module

123‧‧‧General section

124‧‧‧ Non-common parts

130_1, 130_2, 130_N‧‧‧ grammar rules data

S310, S320, S330‧‧‧ steps

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a natural language understanding system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a semantic analysis module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a semantic analysis method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In order to make the content of the present invention easier to understand, the following specific embodiments are examples based on which the present invention can be implemented. In addition, wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and embodiments to refer to the same or similar components.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a natural language understanding system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the natural language understanding (NLU) system 100 includes a processor 110, a memory 120, and an input device 130. The memory 120 stores a semantic analysis module 121. The processor 110 is coupled to the memory 120 and Input device 130. In this embodiment, the semantic analysis module 121 may be stored in another storage device in advance. When the processor 110 executes the semantic analysis module 121, the processor 110 reads the other storage device to convert the semantic analysis module. The group 121 is loaded into the memory 120. The other storage device may be, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state disk (SSD), or an optical disc (OD), and the like, which is not limited in the present invention. In this embodiment, the processor 110 executes the semantic analysis module 121 to generate grammatical rule data.

In this embodiment, the processor 110 is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a system on chip (SOC), or other programmable general-purpose or special-purpose microprocessors. ), Digital Signal Processor (DSP), Programmable Controller, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC), Programmable Logic Device (PLD), other similar processing Device or a combination of these devices. It is worth noting that, in this embodiment, the processor 110 includes a compiler, where the compiler can perform various natural language and program compilation tasks described in the embodiments of the present invention.

In this embodiment, the memory 120 is, for example, a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a flash memory, or a non-volatile random access memory (Non-Volatile Random Access Memory). , NVRAM) and so on. In this embodiment, the memory 120 is used to store data, parameters, and program modules described in the embodiments of the present invention, and the processor 110 can execute these data, parameters, and program modules to implement the embodiments of the present invention. Mentioned System and method.

In this embodiment, the input device 130 may be used to receive a command parameter output by a user. The input device 130 is, for example, a keyboard, a voice receiver, a microphone, or a combination of these devices. The input device 130 can be used to receive voice information or command parameters provided by a user, which is not limited in the present invention. In this embodiment, the input device 130 may provide data or parameters to the processor 110 according to the above-mentioned various types of input methods.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a semantic analysis module according to an embodiment of the present invention. Refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. In this embodiment, the semantic analysis module 121 includes an expression module 122. In this embodiment, the semantic analysis module 121 constructs the expression module 122 according to context free grammars (CFGs). In addition, the semantic analysis module 121 formulates the grammatical rules of the expression module 122 in an Extended Backus-Naur Form (EBNF). In this embodiment, the expression module 122 compiles the expression module 122 having a general portion 123 and a non-universal portion 124 in advance. In this embodiment, when the processor 110 executes the semantic analysis module 121, the semantic analysis module 121 combines the general part 123 and the non-universal part 124 of the expression module 122 to generate a plurality of grammatical rule data 130_1, 130_2 ~ 130_N, where N is a positive integer greater than 1.

Specifically, in this embodiment, the general part 123 of the expression module 122 includes a syntax template, and this syntax template includes a parameterized production module. The non-universal portion 124 includes a parameter list, and the parameter list includes a plurality of actual parameters. In this embodiment, when the processor 110 executes a semantic analysis module When the group 121 combines the general part 123 and the non-universal part 124 of the expression module 122, the semantic analysis module 121 passes these actual parameters in the parameter list to the parameterized production module to generate grammatical rule data 130_1 , 130_2 ~ 130_N.

In this embodiment, the parameterized production module of the grammar template may include a formal parameter. That is, when the semantic analysis module 121 combines the general part 123 and the non-universal part 124 of the expression module 122, these actual parameters in the parameter list can be passed to the formal parameters in the parameterized production module . For example, the expression content of the expression module 122 may have the following syntax: <verb (verb)>: $ (verb)-$ (verb); <do something (verb, predicate)>: I want to < Redundant ($ (verb))> <recent> $ (predicate); <recent>: recent | recent | new; <grammar 1>: <do something (watch, movie)>; <grammar 2> : <Doing something (listening, pop song)>.

In the above grammar, "<Redundant words (verb)>: $ (verb)-$ (verb)" and "<Do something (verb, predicate)>: I want <Redundant words ($ (verb))> < “recent> $ (predicate)” is a parameterized production of the syntax template of the general part 123. "<Redundant (verb)>" has a formal parameter "(verb)". "<做 什么 (verb, predicate)>" has two formal parameters "(verb)" and "(predicate)". In the above syntax, “<grammar 1>” and “<grammar 2>” are non-universal parts 124 of the expression module 122, and correspond to the above-mentioned “<do something (verb, predicate)>”. "<Grammar 1>" has two actual parameters "watch" and "movie", and "<grammar 2>" has two actual parameters "listen" and "pop song". In this example, "<grammar 1>" and "<grammar 2>" have verb actual parameters and predicates, respectively (predicate) the actual parameters.

That is, the semantic analysis module 121 can generate two grammatical rules according to the expression content of the expression module 122 described above. According to "<Syntax 1>", one of these two syntax rules is "I want to see a <recent> movie; <recent>: recent | recent | new | new." According to "<grammar 2>", the other of these two grammar rules is "I want to listen to <recent> popular songs; <recent>: recent | recent | new | new." In other words, the semantic analysis module 121 does not need to additionally compile two independent expressions corresponding to two grammatical rules. In this example, the semantic analysis module 121 only needs to compile an expression module 122 with a general part 123 to obtain the above two grammatical rules through the parameterized production of the grammar template in the general part 123. . Therefore, the natural language understanding system 100 of this embodiment can effectively save the workload of compiling syntax rules.

In an embodiment, the parameterized production module of the grammar template may also include positional parameters, that is, when the semantic analysis module 121 is combined with the general part 123 and the non-universal part of the expression module 122 In part 124, these actual parameters in the parameter list can be passed to the position parameters in the parameterized production module. For example, the above-mentioned "<duplicate word>" and "<do something>" are parameterized productions of the syntax template of the general part 123 of the expression module 122. In this example, the grammatical expression of "<stackword>" can be "<stackword>: _ 1-1_1", and the grammatical expression of "<dosomething>" can be "<dosomething>": I think <duplicate> <recent> _2 ", where" _1 "and" _2 "can be divided into the first parameter and the second parameter in the corresponding parameter list. Similar to the above formal parameters, the semantic analysis module 121 only needs to compile a The expression module 122 having the general part 123 can obtain the above two grammatical rules by using the parameterized production of the grammar template in the general part 123.

Referring again to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, in this embodiment, the natural language understanding system 100 may receive the corpus data input by the user through the input device 130 and compare the corpus data to obtain the semantic meaning corresponding to the corpus data. Information. In this embodiment, the semantic analysis module 121 may generate these grammatical rule data 130_1, 130_2 ~ 130_N by combining the general part 123 and the non-universal part 124 of the expression module 122 according to the above embodiment. In this embodiment, the manner in which the semantic analysis module 121 generates these grammatical rule data 130_1, 130_2 ~ 130_N can be similar to the macro expansion method performed in the preprocessing stage in the C language. The processor 110 may expand the grammar template and record it in the memory 120 to generate these grammar rule data 130_1, 130_2 ~ 130_N through the expression module 122 at the same time. That is to say, the memory 120 uses more memory space to record the grammatical rule data 130_1, 130_2 ~ 130_N of the expanded expression module 122, and compares these grammatical rule data 130_1, 130_2 ~ 130_N with Corpus data provided by the user to obtain semantic information corresponding to the corpus data. Therefore, when the natural language understanding system 100 performs a natural language understanding operation, the natural language understanding system 100 has a highly efficient comparison effect.

However, in an embodiment, the way in which the semantic analysis module 121 generates these grammatical rule data 130_1, 130_2 ~ 130_N can also be the same as the function call method in the C language, that is, the processor 110 reserves The above grammar template is in the memory 120, and these actual The parameters are dynamically substituted into the parameterized production module of the grammar template in the general part 123 to generate these grammar rule data 130_1, 130_2 ~ 130_N one by one through the expression module 122. In other words, in the process of dynamically replacing these actual parameters to the parameterized production module, each replacement is immediately compared. Therefore, when the natural language understanding system 100 performs a natural language understanding operation, the natural language understanding system 100 can effectively save space in the memory 120.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a semantic analysis method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, the semantic analysis method of this embodiment is applicable to at least the natural language understanding system 100 and the semantic analysis module 121 of the embodiments of FIG. 1 and FIG. 3. In step S310, the natural language understanding system 100 executes the semantic analysis module 121, so that the semantic analysis module 121 combines the general part 123 and the non-universal part 124 of the expression module 122, where the non-universal part 124 includes a parameter list. In step S320, the natural language understanding system 100 provides a plurality of actual parameters to the general part 123 of the expression module 122 according to the parameter list of the non-general part 124 of the expression module 122 to generate grammatical rule data 130_1, 130_2 ~ 130_N. In step S330, the natural language understanding system 100 uses the semantic analysis module 121 to compare the corpus data through the grammatical rule data 130_1, 130_2 ~ 130_N to obtain the semantic information corresponding to the corpus data. Therefore, the semantic analysis method of this embodiment can effectively save the workload of compiling grammar rules of the natural language understanding system 100.

In addition, the relevant device features and technical contents of the natural language understanding system 100 of this embodiment can be obtained based on the content of the embodiments of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 to obtain sufficient teaching, suggestions, and implementation descriptions, and therefore will not be repeated.

In summary, the natural language understanding system and the semantic analysis method of the present invention can compile a grammar template in advance in the general part of the expression module. When the natural language understanding system executes the expression module, the natural language understanding system may provide multiple actual parameters of the parameter list of the non-general part to the grammar template of the general part to generate multiple pieces of grammar rule data. That is, the natural language understanding system and the semantic analysis method of the present invention can generate multiple pieces of grammatical rule data according to the grammar template without compiling a large amount of grammatical rule data in advance. Therefore, the natural language understanding system and the semantic analysis method of the present invention can effectively save the workload of compiling grammar rules of the natural language understanding system, and can be easily maintained.

Although the present invention has been disclosed as above with the examples, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Any person with ordinary knowledge in the technical field can make some modifications and retouching without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The protection scope of the present invention shall be determined by the scope of the attached patent application.

Claims (13)

A natural language understanding system includes a semantic analysis module including an expression module, and the expression module includes a general part and a non-universal part, wherein the general part includes a grammar template and the grammar template includes parameterization The non-generic part includes a parameter list; and a processor for executing the semantic analysis module, and when the processor executes the semantic analysis module to combine the expression module For the general part and the non-generic part, the semantic analysis module provides at least one of a plurality of actual parameters according to the parameter list of the non-generic part of the expression module, and At least one of the plurality of actual parameters is passed to the parameterized production module of the general part of the expression module to generate at least one grammatical rule data. The natural language understanding system according to item 1 of the scope of patent application, wherein the semantic analysis module constructs the expression module according to a context-free grammar. The natural language understanding system according to item 1 of the scope of patent application, wherein the parameterized production module includes formal parameters. The natural language understanding system according to item 1 of the patent application scope, wherein the parameterized production module includes a position parameter. The natural language understanding system according to item 1 of the scope of patent application, further comprising: a memory, coupled to the processor, and when the processor executes the semantic meaning When analyzing the module, the processor loads the semantic analysis module into the memory, wherein the semantic analysis module generates a plurality of grammatical rule data, and compares the data through the plurality of grammatical rule data. Corpus data to obtain semantic information corresponding to the corpus data. The natural language understanding system according to item 5 of the scope of patent application, wherein the processor expands the grammar template and records the grammar template to generate multiple grammar rule data through the expression module at the same time . The natural language understanding system according to item 5 of the scope of patent application, wherein the processor retains the parameter information form of the grammar template in the memory, and dynamically replaces the plurality of actual parameters to the grammar In the parameterized production module in the template, a plurality of grammar rule data are generated one by one through the expression module. A semantic analysis method is applicable to a natural language understanding system, and the natural language understanding system includes a semantic analysis module, wherein the semantic analysis method includes: executing the semantic analysis module to combine the semantic analysis module Generic part and non-generic part of the expression module, wherein the generic part includes a grammar template, the grammar template includes a parameterized production module, the non-generic part includes a parameter list; when the semantic analysis module When combining the common part and the non-common part of the expression module, at least one of a plurality of actual parameters is provided according to the parameter list of the non-common part of the expression module; Passing at least one of the plurality of actual parameters to the parameterized production module of the general part of the expression module to generate at least one grammatical rule data; and through the The semantic analysis module compares corpus data through the at least one grammatical rule data to obtain semantic information corresponding to the corpus data. The semantic analysis method according to item 8 of the scope of patent application, wherein the semantic analysis module constructs the expression module according to a context-free grammar. The semantic analysis method according to item 8 of the scope of patent application, wherein the parameterized production module includes formal parameters. The semantic analysis method according to item 8 of the scope of patent application, wherein the parameterized production module includes a position parameter. The semantic analysis method according to item 8 of the scope of patent application, wherein the natural language understanding system further includes a memory, and the step of generating the at least one grammar rule data includes: expanding the grammar template and recording the grammar template In the memory, a plurality of grammatical rule data is generated simultaneously through the expression module. The semantic analysis method according to item 8 of the scope of patent application, wherein the natural language understanding system further includes a memory, and the step of generating the at least one grammatical rule data includes: retaining parameter information forms of the grammar templates in all The memory, and dynamically replacing the plurality of actual parameters into the parameterized production module in the grammar template to generate a plurality of grammar rule data one by one through the expression module.