Non-Terminal Symbol

A Non-Terminal Symbol is a Symbol in a Formal Grammar (from a Non-Terminal Symbol Set) that can be mapped to the Left-Hand Side of a Formal Grammar Production Rule.

• AKA: Grammar Non-Terminal Symbol, LHS.
• Context:
  • It can be a member of a Finite Set in a Formal Grammar, sometimes labeled as N.
  • It can be a member of a Natural Language Syntax.
• Example(s):
  • The Natural Language Non-Terminal Symbols: S, NP and VP in an English Natural Language Syntax.
• See: Terminal Symbol, Variable.

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References

2009

• (Wikipedia, 2009) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminal_symbol
  • In computer science, terminal and nonterminal symbols are those symbols that are used to construct production rules in a formal grammar. Whereas terminal symbols form the parts of strings generated by the grammar, nonterminal symbols map to the names of productions in the grammar, and generate strings by substitution either of other nonterminals or of terminals (or some combination of these).
• http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~billw/nlpdict.html#non-terminal
  • A non-terminal symbol of a grammar is a symbol that represents a lexical or phrasal category in a language. Examples in English would include N, V, ADJ, ADV (lexical categories) and NP, VP, ADJP, ADVP and S (phrasal categories). See also terminal symbol and context-free grammar.

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