Office of Naval Intelligence

Methods of text compression in Navy messages are not limited to sentence fragments and the omissions of function words such as the copula be. Text compression is also exhibited within "grammatical" sentences and is identified within noun phrases in Navy messages. Mechanisms of text compression include increased frequency of complex noun sequences and also increased usage of nominalizations. Semantic relationships among elements of a complex noun sequence can be used to derive a correct bracketing of syntactic constructions.

Methods of text compression in Navy messages are not limited to sentence fragments and the omissions of function words such as the copula be. Text compression is also exhibited within grammatical sentences and is identified within noun phrases in Navy messages. Mechanisms of text compression include increased frequency of complex noun sequences and also increased usage of nominalizations. Semantic relationships among elements of a complex noun sequence can be used to derive a correct bracketing of syntactic constructions.

The Modern Language JournalVolume 32, Issue 5 p. 351-356 No Royal Road to Language Mastery* Captain A. E. Hindmarsh, U. S. Navy Intelligence School Washington 25, D. C.Search for more papers by this author Captain A. E. Hindmarsh, U. S. Navy Intelligence School Washington 25, D. C.Search for more papers by this author First published: May 1948 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1948.tb06549.x † The substance of these remarks was presented in a speech before the American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages, Detroit, Michigan, December 28, 1947. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not represent necessarily the views of the Department of the Navy. Editor's note. AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume32, Issue5May 1948Pages 351-356 RelatedInformation