The central task of a future-oriented computational linguistics is the development of cognitive machines which humans can freely talk with in their respective natural language. In the long run, this task will ensure the development of a functional theory of language, an objective method of verification, and a wide range of practical applications. Natural communication requires not only verbal processing, but also non-verbal perception and action. Therefore the content of this textbook is organized as a theory of language for the construction of talking robots. The main topic is the mechanism of natural language communication in both the speaker and the hearer.

In the third edition the author has modernized the text, leaving the overview of traditional, theoretical, and computational linguistics, analytic philosophy of language, and mathematical complexity theory with their historical backgrounds intact. The format of the empirical analyses of English and German syntax and semantics has been adapted to current practice; and Chaps. 22–24 have been rewritten to focus more sharply on the construction of a talking robot.

面向未来的计算语言学的中心任务是开发人类可以用各自的自然语言自由交谈的认知机器。从长远来看，这项任务将确保语言功能理论的发展，客观的验证方法，以及广泛的实际应用。自然交流不仅需要语言处理，还需要非语言的感知和行动。因此，这本教材的内容是作为构建说话机器人的语言理论来组织的。主要议题是说话人和听话人的自然语言交流机制。

在第三版中，作者对文本进行了现代化处理，保留了传统、理论和计算语言学、语言分析哲学和数学复杂性理论的概述及其历史背景。对英语和德语的句法和语义的经验分析的格式已经适应了当前的实践；第22-24章被重新编写，以使其成为一个新的语言学家。第22-24章已被重写，以更突出地关注一个会说话的机器人的构造。