The 5 Phases of Natural Language Processing

• Natural Language Processing – Overview
• Natural language processing (NLP) is the interactions between computers and human language, how to program computers to process and analyse large amounts of natural language data.
• The technology can accurately extract information and insights contained in the documents as well as categorize and organize the documents themselves.
• NLP makes computers capable of “understanding” the contents of documents, including the contextual nuances of the language within them.
• Most higher-level NLP applications involve aspects that emulate intelligent behavior and apparent comprehension of natural language.
• Many different classes of machine-learning algorithms have been applied to natural-language-processing tasks.
• These algorithms take as input a large set of “features” that are generated from the input data.

Natural Language Processing – Market Size

Natural Language Processing Market was valued at USD 11.02 Billion in 2020 and is projected to reach USD 45.79 Billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 19.49 % from 2021 to 2028.

Natural Language Processing – Segmentation Analysis

Natural Language Processing – Advantages

• Better data analysis
• Streamlined processes
• Cost-effective
• Empowered employees
• Enhanced customer experience

Natural Language Processing – 5 Phases

• Phase 1 – Lexical Analysis
• Phase 2 – Syntactic Analysis
• Phase 3 – Sematic Analysis
• Phase 4 – Discourse Analysis
• Phase 5 – Pragmatic Analysis

Phase 1 – Lexical Analysis

• Lexical analysis is the process of converting a sequence of characters into a sequence of tokens.
• A lexer is generally combined with a parser, which together analyzes the syntax of programming languages, web pages, and so forth.
• Lexers and parsers are most often used for compilers but can be used for other computer language tools, such as pretty printers or linters.
• Lexical analysis is also an important analysis during the early stage of natural language processing, where text or sound waves are segmented into words and other units.

Phase 2 – Syntactic Analysis

• Parsing, syntax analysis, or syntactic analysis is the process of analyzing a string of symbols, either in natural language, computer languages, or data structures, conforming to the rules of formal grammar.
• It is used in the analysis of computer languages, referring to the syntactic analysis of the input code into its component parts to facilitate the writing of compilers and interpreters.
• Grammatical rules are applied to categories and groups of words, not individual words. The syntactic analysis basically assigns a semantic structure to text.
• Syntactic analysis is a very important part of NLP that helps in understanding the grammatical meaning of any sentence.

Phase 3 – Semantic Analysis

• Semantic Analysis attempts to understand the meaning of Natural Language.
• Semantic Analysis of Natural Language captures the meaning of the given text while considering context, logical structuring of sentences, and grammar roles.
• 2 parts of Semantic Analysis are (a) Lexical Semantic Analysis and (b) Compositional Semantics Analysis.
• Semantic analysis can begin with the relationship between individual words.

Phase 4 – Discourse Analysis

• Researchers use Discourse analysis to uncover the motivation behind a text.
• It is useful for studying the underlying meaning of a spoken or written text as it considers the social and historical contexts.
• Discourse analysis is a process of performing text or language analysis, involving text interpretation, and understanding the social interactions.

Phase 5 – Pragmatic Analysis

• Pragmatic Analysis is part of the process of extracting information from text.
• It focuses on taking a structured set of text and figuring out the actual meaning of the text.
• It also focuses on the meaning of the words of the time and context.
• Effects on interpretation can be measured using PA by understanding the communicative and social content.