Augmented Transition Networks - Procedural Parsing Formalism for Natural Language
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Augmented Transition Networks - Procedural Parsing Formalism for Natural Language

Michael Brenndoerfer•November 1, 2025•14 min read•3,338 words•Interactive

Explore William Woods's influential 1970 parsing formalism that extended finite-state machines with registers, recursion, and actions. Learn how Augmented Transition Networks enabled procedural parsing of natural language, handled ambiguity through backtracking, and integrated syntactic analysis with semantic processing in systems like LUNAR.

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Reference

BIBTEXAcademic
@misc{augmentedtransitionnetworksproceduralparsingformalismfornaturallanguage, author = {Michael Brenndoerfer}, title = {Augmented Transition Networks - Procedural Parsing Formalism for Natural Language}, year = {2025}, url = {https://mbrenndoerfer.com/writing/augmented-transition-networks-procedural-parsing-formalism-natural-language}, organization = {mbrenndoerfer.com}, note = {Accessed: 2025-11-05} }
APAAcademic
Michael Brenndoerfer (2025). Augmented Transition Networks - Procedural Parsing Formalism for Natural Language. Retrieved from https://mbrenndoerfer.com/writing/augmented-transition-networks-procedural-parsing-formalism-natural-language
MLAAcademic
Michael Brenndoerfer. "Augmented Transition Networks - Procedural Parsing Formalism for Natural Language." 2025. Web. 11/5/2025. <https://mbrenndoerfer.com/writing/augmented-transition-networks-procedural-parsing-formalism-natural-language>.
CHICAGOAcademic
Michael Brenndoerfer. "Augmented Transition Networks - Procedural Parsing Formalism for Natural Language." Accessed 11/5/2025. https://mbrenndoerfer.com/writing/augmented-transition-networks-procedural-parsing-formalism-natural-language.
HARVARDAcademic
Michael Brenndoerfer (2025) 'Augmented Transition Networks - Procedural Parsing Formalism for Natural Language'. Available at: https://mbrenndoerfer.com/writing/augmented-transition-networks-procedural-parsing-formalism-natural-language (Accessed: 11/5/2025).
SimpleBasic
Michael Brenndoerfer (2025). Augmented Transition Networks - Procedural Parsing Formalism for Natural Language. https://mbrenndoerfer.com/writing/augmented-transition-networks-procedural-parsing-formalism-natural-language
Michael Brenndoerfer

About the author: Michael Brenndoerfer

All opinions expressed here are my own and do not reflect the views of my employer.

Michael currently works as an Associate Director of Data Science at EQT Partners in Singapore, where he drives AI and data initiatives across private capital investments.

With over a decade of experience spanning private equity, management consulting, and software engineering, he specializes in building and scaling analytics capabilities from the ground up. He has published research in leading AI conferences and holds expertise in machine learning, natural language processing, and value creation through data.

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