pazzani%AEROSPACE@sri-unix.UUCP (06/15/84)
From: Michael Pazzani <pazzani@AEROSPACE> I disagree with the statement that spelling correctors are knowledge-based programs capable of outperforming even intelligent humans. There are two basic parts to spelling correction: detection and correction. In the case where there is more than one possible correction for a misspelled word, people can of course use the context to find the correct spelling. Selecting the proper choice is in many ways like selecting the intended sense of a word. Computers, of course, can be much better at detection of spelling errors except when the misspelling is another word in the vocabulary. I would not call checking a word against a prestored vocabulary knowledge based even with a complex root stripping capability.