The process of converting textual information into numerical representations allows for the application of mathematical and computational techniques to language. For example, the word “cat” might be assigned the number 1, “dog” the number 2, and so on, enabling subsequent quantitative analysis. This conversion forms the basis for various natural language processing tasks.
This methodology is fundamental to computational linguistics and data science, enabling computers to understand and process human language. Its significance lies in facilitating tasks such as sentiment analysis, machine translation, and information retrieval. Historically, simpler methods such as assigning index numbers were used, but modern approaches leverage sophisticated algorithms for richer and more nuanced representations.
