Natural Language Processing (NLP)

Natural Language Processing (NLP) is a specialized field within artificial intelligence and computer science dedicated to enabling computers to understand, interpret, manipulate, and generate human language. It bridges the gap between human communication and computer data by applying computational models—increasingly based on machine learning and deep learning—to text and speech. Core applications of NLP include machine translation, sentiment analysis, spam detection, and powering conversational agents like chatbots and virtual assistants, making it a cornerstone of modern human-computer interaction.

Computational Linguistics is an interdisciplinary field that leverages principles from computer science and artificial intelligence to scientifically study and model human language. It focuses on developing formal algorithms and computational systems to understand the structure of language, including its syntax (grammar), semantics (meaning), and phonology (sound). While it provides the theoretical underpinnings for many Natural Language Processing (NLP) applications, computational linguistics is distinctly concerned with using computation as a tool to test linguistic theories and advance the fundamental scientific knowledge of how language is structured and processed.