Language-aware functions for text processors

We distinguish functions that actually change the text and functions that provide certain information for the writer, beeing the basis for further revising and editing. The latter includes syntax highlighting.

Functions for manipulating text

Text elements consisting of one or more syntactical units of a certain language are processed. Processing includes search & replace, delete, insert, move. As syntactical units of a language show a certain surface for a certain linguistic category we include here the change of a syntactical unit, i.e., the change of the category will manifest in a change in the surface.

Functions for information

The writer can ask for highlighting certain syntactical structures like units of a certain part of speech (e.g., verb) or a linguistic category (e.g., noun phrases in plural). Furthermore the writer can ask for highlighting structures not including certain elements (e.g., sentences without verb).

Functions for cursor movement or navigation

Cursor movement functions take the syntactic properties of the language into account, allowing the writer to move the cursor to specific positions (e.g., the beginning or the end of a sentence or a phrase) or according to certain constructions (e.g., to move to the next conjunct in a conjunctive construction).