Concept-lexeme-syntax triangles: A gateway to interlingual translation

NABU is a large, multilingual Natural Language Processing (NLP) system being developed at MCC for Human Interface applications. Although the NABU project is not considering Machine Translation (MT) as an implementation domain, it is not unreasonable to suppose that, given our multilingual orientation, some MT problems could be ameliorated if not solved by our theoretical approach. This paper addresses the problem of MT via thecognitive interlingua method, focusing on the representation of the lexicon in such a system, and its accommodation of various sources of knowledge for use by both man and machine: notably, in the latter case, morphology, syntax, and semantics. We propose a new theoretical framework — the NABU Word Lattice — as a means of integrating multiple sources of knowledge in a parsimonious fashion conducive to formal interpretation within, and the construction of, an MT system.