A methodology for the semiautomatic annotation of EPEC-RolSem, a basque corpus labeled at predicative level following the PropBank-Verb Net model

Abstract

In this article we describe the methodology developed for the semiautomatic annotation of EPEC-RolSem, a Basque corpus labeled at predicate level following the PropBank-VerbNet model. The methodology presented is the product of detailed theoretical study of the semantic nature of verbs in Basque and of their similarities and differences with verbs in other languages. As part of the proposed methodology, we are creating a Basque lexicon on the PropBank-VerbNet model that we have named the Basque Verb Index (BVI). Our work thus dovetails the general trend toward building lexicons from tagged corpora that is clear in work conducted for other languages. EPEC-RolSem and BVI are two important resources for the computational semantic processing of Basque; as far as the authors are aware, they are also the first resources of their kind developed for Basque. In addition, each entry in BVI is linked to the corresponding verb-entry in well-known resources like PropBank, VerbNet, WordNet, Levin’s Classification and FrameNet. We have also implemented several automatic processes to aid in creating and annotating the BVI, including processes designed to facilitate the task of manual annotation.

Lan honetan, EPEC-RolSem corpusa etiketatzeko jarraitu dugun metodologia deskribatuko dugu. EPEC-RolSem corpusa PropBank-VerbNet ereduari jarraiki predikatu-mailan etiketatutako euskarazko corpusa da. Etiketatze-lana aurrera eramateko euskal aditzen izaera semantikoa aztertu eta ingeleseko aditzekin konparatu dugu, azterketa horren emaitza da lan honetan proposatzen dugun metodologia. Metodologiaren atal bat PropBank-VerbNet eredura sortutako euskal aditzen lexikoiaren osaketa izan da, lexikoi hau Basque Verb Index (BVI) deitu dugu. Gure lanak alor honetan beste hizkuntzetan dagoen joera nagusia jarraitzen du, hau da, etiketatutako corpusetatik lexikoiak sortzea. EPEC-RolSem eta BVI oso baliabide garrantzitsuak dira euskararen semantika konputazionalaren alorrean, izan ere, euskararako sortutako mota honetako lehen baliabideak dira. Honetaz guztiaz gain, BVIko sarrera bakoitza PropBank, VerbNet, WordNet, Levinen sailkapena eta FrameNet bezalako baliabide ezagunekin lotua dago. Hainbat prozesu automatiko inplementatu ditugu EPEC-RolSem corpusaren eskuzko etiketatzea laguntzeko eta baita BVI sortzeko eta osatzeko ere.