Human language is flexible and imprecise. There is no compiler. English in particular is often interpreted in a descriptivist manner (meaning is defined based o

Human language is flexible and imprecise. There is no compiler. English in particular is often interpreted in a descriptivist manner (meaning is defined based on how the public uses the words) rather than prescriptivist (meaning is defined by central authority). Parsing is sometimes used to describe the translation of tokens to abstract syntax tree, sometimes it is used to describe both tokenzation and tree formation together, sometimes it is used to describe any process of taking in text and producing something more structured (Turbo Pascal for instance went straight from text -> machine code, was that parsing?) Tokenzation is taking in text and producing something more structured, so it may be appropriate to call that a form of parsing too. Many programmers would like for human language to be as strict and precise as programming, but absent some plan to cause that to happen it is better to go with the flow, and simply be as clear in your own communication as you can rather than quibbling about definitions of others all the time. You won't ever win.