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Since the 1996 Oakland School Board decision regarding the use of Ebonics as a tool of instruction, opinions have clashed over whether Ebonics is a separate language or merely a dialect of English. Called Black Vernacular English (BVE) in the 1960s and 70s, African American Vernacular English (AAVE) in the 1980s and 90s, (called "Ebonic", without the "s" by this author, in keeping with other language names that end in "-ic", such as Arabic and Amharic) Ebonics has traditionally been considered a dialect of English by educators and linguists. To understand why Ebonics might be considered a language other than English requires a closer look at what it takes to make a language, as well as what the differences are between a language and a dialect. The author discusses the following questions: What does it take to make a language? Is Ebonic bad English? Is Ebonic a language or a dialect? and Why consider Ebonic a separate language? (Contains a "Resources on Ebonics" Section, with 23 Web and print sources.) (VWL)

A 1996-97 national survey of elementary and secondary schools investigated current patterns and shifts in foreign language enrollment, languages and programs offered, teaching methodologies, teacher qualifications and training, and reactions to national reform issues. An introductory section of the survey report offers background information on this and several previous surveys. The second section outlines key questions to be addressed by the present study. A third section is devoted to explanation of the research methodology used and a demographic profile of the sample surveyed. The bulk of the report is devoted to a summary of results, including numerical data, concerning: number of schools teaching foreign languages; interest in offering language instruction; language enrollment; languages taught; program types; grade levels and minutes per week (elementary schools); levels offered and hours per week (secondary schools); class scheduling during the school day; funding sources (elementary schools); schools having curriculum frameworks or guidelines; sources of language curricula; instructional materials; sequencing/articulation; number of language teachers; teacher qualifications; staff development/inservice training; foreign language use in the classroom (secondary schools); schools' characterizations of their programs; assessment; and standards for language learning. A concluding section contains a discussion of findings. The questionnaires are appended. Contains 9 references. (MSE)

The first seven issues of the Trans European Language Resources Infrastructure (TELRI) newsletter, a publication of the COPERNICUS project funded by the Commission of the European Communities, date from September 1995 to October 1997. The first three issues contain articles in the origins of TELRI, its members, working groups, and events. TELRI's aim is to set up a network of leading national language and language technology centers in Europe. It brings together 22 institutions in 17 countries. Subsequent issues contain similar association-related information and articles on these topics: syntactic tagging techniques; the Czech National Corpus; issues in machine translation of Plato's "Republic" in a variety of Slavic languages; development of new lexicons; and development of multilingual technology. Some of the articles consist of summaries of conference papers on these topics. (MSE)

This issue of "Exploring," is devoted primarily to examination of alphabets and the languages they represent. Major articles include: "Shrinking the Alphabet" (Pat Murphy), a comparison of alphabet composition for different languages; "The Puzzle of Linear B" (Paul Doherty), a history of archaeologists' deciphering of an early form of written language; "Letters Take Shape" (Judith Brand), a comparison of letter forms and print through history and across cultures; "How Do You Spell That" (Richard Brooks), an exploration of spelling and linguistic consistency. Games, lists of further reading for most articles, regular features of the magazine (letters, reviews, and museum news), and a large wall poster (not included here) chronicling the evolution of the modern Roman alphabet are also included. (MSE)

This issue of Exploratorium Magazine is devoted to languages as a systematic means of getting across ideas. Contents include: (1) "Where Do Languages Come From" (Merrit Ruhlen); (2) "English in Transition" (Rupert Peene); (3) "The Making of English" (Judith Brand); (4) "Try This!"-Become a Word Historian and One Poem-Three Poems" (Kurt Feichtmeir); (5) "Fragments" (Kurt Feichtmeir); (6) "When Languages Collide" (Ruth Brown); and (7) "Try This!"-Which Languages are Related?" (Judith Brand). Includes a Language Families of the World chart. (YDS)

This document presents a theory of how the psychology and neurobiology of stimulus appraisal influence variability in second language acquisition, and extends the notion of affect developed for second language acquisition to primary language acquisition and to cognition in general. The first chapter lays out a psychological framework that develops the notions of value, emotional memory, and stimulus appraisal. Chapter 2 suggests a neurobiological mechanism that would subserve the psychological constructs just described. Chapters 3 through 5 offer evidence for the idea that stimulus appraisal constitutes the affective basis for motivation in second language learning and all deep, sustained learning. Affect in first language acquisition and use is explored in chapter 6, arguing that the affective relationship between caregiver and child forms the basis for language acquisition. The final chapter explores the role of affect in cognition in general. Contents are indexed. (MSE)

Papers on semantic theory and research include: "Presupposition, Congruence, and Adverbs of Quantification" (Mike Calcagno); "A Unified Account of '(Ta)myen'-Conditionals in Korean" (Chan Chung); "Spanish 'imperfecto' and 'preterito': Truth Conditions and Aktionsart Effects in a Situation Semantics" (Alicia Cipria, Craige Roberts); "Remarks on Simple Subjunctives" (Andreas Kathol); "Information Structure in Discourse: Towards an Integrated Formal Theory of Pragmatics" (Roberts); "Interpretation of Korean Temporal Markers -ESS and -NUN" (Eun Jung Yoo); and "Interpretation of Relative Tenses in Korean Time Adverbials" (Jae-Hak Yoon). Articles contain references. (MSE)

Reports of research in phonetics and psycholinguistics include: "Interaction with Autonomy: Defining Multiple Output Models in Psycholinguistic Theories" (Julie E. Boland, Anne Cutler); "Vocal Tract Evolution and Vowel Production" (K. Bretonnel Cohen); "Final Lowering in Kipare" (Rebecca Herman); "Gestural Phasing as an Explanation for Vowel Devoicing in Turkish" (Stefanie Jannedy); "Intervocalic Consonant Sequences in Korean" (Keith Johnson, Mira Oh); "Acoustic and Intonational Correlates of Information Status of Referring Expressions in Standard Korean" (Hyeon-Seok Kang); "Longitudinal Study of the Acquisition of Taiwanese Initial Stops" (Ho-Hsien Pan); "Perceptual Evidence of Tonal Coarticulation" (Shu-hui Peng); and "Temporal Structure of an Estonian Lament: A Case Study" (Jaan Ross, Ilse Lehiste). Articles contain references. (MSE)

Papers in phonology, psycholinguistics, and syntax include: "Discriminating between Syntactic and Semantic Processing: Evidence from Event-Related Potentials" (Kim Ainsworth-Darnell); "The Syntactic Structure of Chinese Formal Focus" (Qian Gao); "Employing a Multimodal Logic in an Approach to German Pronoun Fronting" (Karin Golde); "The Interaction of Segmental-Prosodic Rules with Tonal Rules: A Case Study of North Kyungsang Korean" (No-Ju Kim); The Status of Onsetless Syllables in Kikerewe" (David Odden); and "Exceptional Degree Markers: A Puzzle in Internal and External Syntax" (Arnold Zwicky). Articles contain references. (MSE)

This collection of papers on linguistic experiments includes: "Initial Tones and Prominence in Seoul Korean" (Ken de Jong); "The Domains of Laryngeal Feature Lenition Effects in Chonnam Korean" (Sun-Ah Jun); "The Timing of Lip Rounding and Tongue Backing for /u/" Gina M. Lee); "Prosody and Intrasyllabic Timing in French" (Janet Fletcher, Eric Vatikiotis-Bateson); "Lip Rounding and Vowel Formant Frequencies in Nantong Chinese" (Benjamin Ao); "Comparison of Lip Rounding in German and English Vowels" (Monica Crabtree, Claudia Kurz); "Labial Position and Acoustics of Korean and English High Vowels" (Sun-Ah Jun); "An Articulatory Study of the Features ATR in Akan and Emphasis in Arabic" (Sook-Hyang Lee); "Lip Rounding in Amoy and Mandarin High Vowels: Maximum Dispersion, or Adequate Separation" (Ho-hsien Pan); "The Duration and Perception of English Epenthetic and Underlying Stops" (Sook-Hyang Lee); and Interference for 'New' versus 'Similar' Vowels in Korean Speakers of English" (Sun-Ah Jun, Islay Cowie). Articles contain references. (MSE)

This collection of working papers in syntax includes: "Null Objects in Mandarin Chinese" (Christie Block); "Toward a Linearization-Based Approach to Word Order Variation in Japanese" (Mike Calcagno); "A Lexical Approach to Inalienable Possession Constructions in Korean" (Chung, Chan); "Chinese NP Structure" (Gao, Qian); "Linearization and Coordination in German" (Andreas Kathol); "Revisiting the Genitive Relative Construction in Korean: Real GRC?" (Lee, Ki-Suk); "Subcategorization and Case Marking in Korean" (Yoo, Eun Jung); and "Different Semantics for Different Syntax: Relative Clauses in Korean" (Yoon, Jea-Hak). Contains a 205-item bibliography on head-driven phrase structure grammar compiled by Mike Calcagno, Andeas Kathol, and Carl Pollard. (MSE)

A five-year period of particular activity in Australian language policy and language planning culminated with the 1991 publication of the White Paper called Australia's Language, which outlines proposed government programs in languages until 1994. Many of the papers in this theme issue of the journal of the Applied Linguistics Association of Australia are concerned with the impact of the White Paper on various areas of Australian language planning and policy. They include: "Australian Language Policies: Are We Going Backwards?" (Michael Clyne); "A Review of Some of the Achievements of the National Policy on Languages" (Joseph Lo Bianco); "The Green Paper on Language and Literacy: An Overview and an Assessment" (Roland Sussex); "The Role of the National Languages Institute of Australia in the Development and Implementation of Language Policy in Australia" (Susan Fullagar, Anthony Liddicoat); "Language Policies, Language Attitudes and Acquisition Planning: Implications for National Policy on Languages" (Pauline Djite, Belinda A. Monro); "Client Demand, Policy Research and Lobbying: Major Sources of Languages Administrative Policies in NSW 1980-86" (Kerrie Croft, R. J. S. MacPherson); "Yesterday's Experts: The Bureaucratic Impact on Language Planning for Aboriginal Bilingual Education" (Bruce A. Sommer); "Language and Identity in the Australian Deaf Community: Australian Sign Language and Language Policy. An Issue of Social Justice" (Jan Branson, Don Miller); "Language Policy in Interpreting and Translating" (Uldis Ozolins); and "Language Planning and Language Management for Tourism Shopping Situations" (Helen E. Marriott). (MSE)

The recurring and unusual aversion of many individuals to Mathematics, and to Science in general, depends probably on the rejection of an initial effort to think in abstract concepts. Having overcome this "barrier," it actually seems more than evident that the foundational conceptual structure of these Disciplines is quite analogous to those of Languages conventionally understood; on the basis of the connections, described by Semiotics, between signs, sign constructions, meanings and concepts. A practical extension of this is made for the most "symbolistic" of the Sciences: the Chemistry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article tracks the author's journey as a Fitzmaurice Voicework practitioner, situating it in relation to their other journeys and histories: from Southeast Asia to the West Coast of Canada, from a Chinese-Malaysian growing up in a polyglot society grappling with the detritus of past colonialism to being a naturalized Canadian grappling with the tensions of current settler colonialism. It connects their practice as a performance-maker to their practice as a voice teacher. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Luigi Meneghello’s work and life have proven to be highly valid and useful in current educational and pedagogical environment, both in terms of individual agency and reflection on how to learn and teach, particularly through different and disparate languages and cultures. Meneghello through his long process of continuous apprenticeship, is a valuable example of a native dialectophone, became Italian speaker at school age, and then Anglophone in his adulthood. The essay illustrates some steps and aspects of an individual experience of an universal value between different languages and worlds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recent study conducted by the University of California explores the emergence of a new language called "Protactile" among DeafBlind individuals. The research focuses on the interactions between DeafBlind adults and children during the COVID-19 pandemic when educational services were disrupted. The study highlights the importance of DeafBlind adults having institutional authority to shape communication practices for DeafBlind children and emphasizes the role of both children and adults in language emergence. The findings provide insights into how novel communication channels are formed and how intention attribution and joint attention are established. [Extracted from the article]

A recent study conducted by researchers from CIESAS in Mexico City explores the cognitive representation of space in the Yucatec Maya Sign Language (YSML). The YSML is an emerging visual language created by deaf and hearing signers in Yucatec Maya villages. The study found that YSML signers share a preference for the geocentric Frame of Reference (FoR), which is consistent with the preference observed in spoken Yucatec Maya. The research suggests that cultures around the world rely on a preferred spatial FoR, which influences how people orient themselves and think about the world. [Extracted from the article]

A recent research report from the University of Texas Austin explores metalinguistic discourse in an emerging sign language called Zinacantec Family Homesign, or "Z sign." The study examines how metalinguistic discourse unfolds between a hearing Z signer and various members of her family, including her deaf siblings, elderly hearing father, and young hearing son. The researchers aim to understand the formal components of metalinguistic discourse in Z sign and how it functions as a form of social action within this linguistic community. The study finds that a recurrent device for enacting metalinguistic critique among the Z signers is the partial re-production and transformation of others' utterances and visible actions. [Extracted from the article]

A recent study conducted at the University of Wisconsin examined the coordination of eye gaze and manual signing in a local sign language from Nebaj, Guatemala. The researchers analyzed the gaze patterns of two signers as they described a book to an interlocutor. The study found a strong correlation between the direction of eye gaze and the type of sign being produced, with signers looking to a specialized medial space while enacting the actions of characters in the book. The analysis also highlighted the pragmatic-interactional and discursive-narrative functions of gaze in sign language communication. [Extracted from the article]

A recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Paris explores the challenges faced by deaf individuals in accessing written language. The study highlights the linguistic distance between sign language (L1) and written vocal language (L2), which limits positive transfer between the two. Additionally, the research emphasizes the importance of using sign language as a metalanguage in teaching writing to deaf signers. The findings suggest that the acquisition of sentence structure in written language is closely linked to the structure of sign language and the visual functioning of deaf individuals. [Extracted from the article]

This paper discusses both the history and future of programming languages (= higher level languages). Some of the difficulties in writing such a history are indicated. A key part of the paper is a tree showing the chronological development of languages and their interrelationships, Reasons for the proliferation of languages are given. The major languages are listed with the reasons for their importance. A section on chronology indicates the happenings of the significant previous time periods and the major topics of 1972. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In spite of impressive gains by PL/I, Fortran and Cobol remain the languages in which most of the world's production programs are written and will remain so into the foreseeable future. There is a great deal of theoretical interest in Algol 68 and in extensible languages, but so far at least they have had little practical impact. Problem-oriented languages may very well become the most important language development area in the next five to ten years. En the operating system area all major computer manufacturers set out to produce very ambitious multiprogramming systems, and they all ran into similar problems. A number of university projects, though not directly comparable to those of the manufacturers, have contributed greatly to a better understanding of operating system principles. Important trends include the increased interest in the development of system measurement and evaluation techniques, and increased use of microprogramming for some programming system functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The IITRAN language, developed to be used by students, and its important features are described. IITRAN is a procedure-oriented language with a one-level block structure and variety of data types. Several novel and powerful features are included. A discussion of design principles to be followed in a student language is given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ASP is a general purpose Associative Data Structure Package in which an arbitrary number of data items and an arbitrary number of the relationships between these data items may be represented. A special picture language is described which has proved very useful for drawing ASP structures on paper. ASP structures are built and manipulated by means of a series of macro coils, which are outlined in the Appendix. Emphasis is on the philosophy of the system rather than a particular implementation, though sufficient information is included to enable the reader to produce his own implementation of ASP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Giuditta Smith, School of Health Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom. Keywords: Global Views; Languages EN Global Views Languages 975 975 1 11/06/23 20231106 NES 231106 2023 NOV 6 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Pain & Central Nervous System Week -- A new study on language is now available. [Extracted from the article]

IRBs can help improve health literacy among potential research participants using several tactics, including asking studies to use plain language in informed consent forms. IRBs can review informed consent and subject recruitment materials to ensure the study information is clear and adheres to regulatory requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global Views, Health and Medicine, Languages, Manual Communication, Rehabilitation, Rehabilitation of Hearing Impaired, Sign Language, Therapy Keywords: Global Views; Health and Medicine; Languages; Manual Communication; Rehabilitation; Rehabilitation of Hearing Impaired; Sign Language; Therapy EN Global Views Health and Medicine Languages Manual Communication Rehabilitation Rehabilitation of Hearing Impaired Sign Language Therapy 7252 7252 1 07/10/23 20230714 NES 230714 2023 JUL 14 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health & Medicine Week -- Investigators publish new report on language. University of Hamburg Researcher Adds New Data to Research in Language [Numeral Incorporation as Grammaticalization?. [Extracted from the article]

For more information on this research see: Language Change and Morphological Processes in Contemporary Chinese: The Case of jiankangma (Health QR Code). Keywords: Global Views; Languages EN Global Views Languages 1025 1025 1 07/10/23 20230714 NES 230714 2023 JUL 16 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Medical Letter on the CDC & FDA -- Research findings on language are discussed in a new report. [Extracted from the article]

The article presents a conversation between sociologists Franco Ingrassia, Rodrigo Nunes, Amador Fernandez-Savater, about changes in the last 20 years in the conditions and reading practices of intellectuals and the left.

In addition, the article will focus on how teachers can value and support the acquisition of all languages beneficial for bi/multilingual Deaf learners to overcome language deprivation and challenges in school." Keywords: Deaf Studies; Global Views; Health and Medicine; Languages EN Deaf Studies Global Views Health and Medicine Languages 5431 5431 1 03/23/23 20230317 NES 230317 2023 MAR 17 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health & Medicine Week -- Investigators publish new report on language. [Extracted from the article]

Specific heat of rare-earth based materials at low temperatures can often be described by the Schotte–Schotte model for Kondo impurity. For several decades thousands of papers have been published which were devoted to physics of rare-earth based compounds and often presented specific heat measurements for Kondo systems. The Schotte–Schotte model for Kondo impurity in a magnetic field requires evaluation of trigamma function for complex argument values. Typical graphing software for general use does not provide such capability. Therefore, very few papers related to Kondo effect in rare-earth based compounds provided analysis within that model. In this report we present a web page which fits specific heat data with a sum of electronic, lattice and Schotte–Schotte terms. The interface is written in Javascript, whereas back-end fitting engine is written in C and compiled to Javascript asm.js code using Emscripten compiler. Program title: SCHfit Program Files doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.17632/xyzdj2fdvs.1. Licensing provisions: MIT Programming language: Javascript/C/HTML Nature of problem: Typical graphing software does not allow non-linear least squares fit of models involving special functions like trigamma function. Moreover, it does not allow evaluation of such models for a complex argument. Solution method: We provide a standalone web page, which does not require running a web server (it can run from a web browser) that fits a particular model of specific heat data for rare-earth based materials (the Schotte–Schotte model [1]). Additional comments: Web page is hosted at http://www.jerzy.goraus.us.edu.pl/schfit.html. Source files are provided at http://www.jerzy.goraus.us.edu.pl/schfit.zip. The interface is implemented in HTML/Javascript, whereas the fitting back-end is in the form of asm.js code compiled from C source. The web page can be run locally in a browser, even without internet connection. We also provide a simple floating point benchmark of the machine which runs the web browser at http://www.jerzy.goraus.us.edu.pl/mf.html. [1] K. D. Schotte, U. Schotte, Phys. Lett. 55 (1975) 38–40 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is motivated by the opportunity presented by recent advances in information and communication technology--particularly by faster broadband connections and faster digital media processing capabilities--for interactive television to extend and develop interactive storytelling or interactive narratives. This will give viewers the ability to shape and configure the programs they watch, while watching, according to their needs and desires. Rather than consuming a predefined linear narration--represented by the traditional dramatic or factual program--which has to address the potential audience as a whole, individuals or groups of viewers can receive tailored-made personal narratives. Each viewer can thus potentially become an active explorer of a narrative space rather than a receiver of a predefined narration. This article presents the production of A Golden Age, an interactive configurable documentary about the arts of the Renaissance in England, as a comprehensive illustration of the potential offered by interactive narration. At the same time, it is also a successful example of the employment of the recently developed, production- and genre-independent, ShapeShifting Media technology in the realization of a good quality interactive narrative. This article describes the concept of A Golden Age, the content production process, carried out from the outset with the aim of producing an interactive experience, and, finally, its authoring and delivery with the ShapeShifting Media toolkit. The focus of the presentation is on the design and implementation of the computational interactive narrative structures expressed in the Narrative Structure Language (NSL), the declarative representation language underlying ShapeShifting Media. A Golden Age places a distinct emphasis on the quality and style of each emerging individual narration, aiming at levels at least comparable to those of (good quality) linearly compiled documentaries. NSL and the ShapeShifting Media toolkit provided the means to achieve this. A Golden Age is a production realized by Illuminations Television Ltd, London, in collaboration with Goldsmiths, University of London and BT over a period of more or less two years. Approximately 50 hours of rushes were filmed for its production. A Golden Age has already inspired the production of another similar documentary, Films of Fact, soon to be released in the public domain as an installation at the Science Museum, London, and, it is hoped, will continue to serve as inspiration for other interactive documentaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Powerful graphics hardware is enabling strong improvements in both the appearance and the complexity of virtual worlds for games and simulations. However, current practices in the design and development of virtual worlds mostly resemble high-tech variants of traditional handcrafts, resulting in increasingly unbearable design costs. In this article we state that an essential key to overcoming these problems lies in the enrichment of object models with several kinds of semantic data. We discuss numerous and promising uses for semantic information in virtual worlds, and show, for many of them, how previous results of recent research can be successfully applied. We also identify the fundamental challenges in this new cross-disciplinary area, and point out a number of open issues lying ahead, including the need for (i) a suitable way of specifying semantic data, providing a powerful vocabulary that is useful and usable for all disciplines involved in game design and development; (ii) a seamless integration of semantic data integrated with procedural generation techniques, in order to provide designers with a new and powerful generation of tools; and (iii) a consistency maintenance among evolving objects in a changeable environment, for which powerful constraint-solving methods will be instrumental. We conclude that, as the expectancy for future games and simulations steadily shifts from improved graphics and appearance towards improved character behavior, plausible realism and coherent gameplay, embedding the game world and its objects with richer semantics is going to play a crucial role. We can therefore expect that, in the near future, increasing research efforts and influential results will be emerging in this new exciting area. Categories and Subject Descriptors: I.3.5 [Computer Graphics]: Computational Geometry and Object Modeling--Geometric algorithms, languages, and systems; H.5.1 [Information Interfaces and Presentation]: Multimedia Information Systems--Artificial, augmented, and virtual realities; I.3.7 [Computer Graphics]: Three-Dimensional Graphics and Realism; D.3.3 [Programming Languages]: Language Constructs and Features--Constraints [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There have been significant advances in Cross-Language Information Retrieval (CLIR) in recent years. One of the major remaining reasons that CLIR does not perform as well as monolingual retrieval is the presence of out of vocabulary (OOV) terms. Previous work has either relied on manual intervention or has only been partially successful in solving this problem. We use a method that extends earlier work in this area by augmenting this with statistical analysis, and corpus-based translation disambiguation to dynamically discover translations of OOV terms. The method can be applied to both Chinese-English and English-Chinese CLIR, correctly extracting translations of OOV terms from the Web automatically, and thus is a significant improvement on earlier work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In South Africa, uninfected children exposed to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) exhibit delays in receptive and expressive language at 24 months compared to non-HIV-exposed children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cross language information retrieval methods are used to determine which segments of Arabic language documents match name-based English queries. We investigate and contrast a word-based translation model with a character-based transliteration model in order to handle spelling variation and previously unseen names. We measure performance by making a novel use of the training data from the 2007 ACE Entity Translation task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extracting morphemes from words is a nontrivial task. Rule based stemming approaches such as Porter's algorithm have encountered some success, however they are restricted by their ability to identify a limited number of affixes and are language dependent. When dealing with languages with many affixes, rule based approaches generally require many more rules to deal with all the possible word forms. Deriving these rules requires a larger effort on the part of linguists and in some instances can be simply impractical. We propose all unsupervised ngram based approach, named Swordfish. Using ngram probabilities in the corpus, possible morphemes are identified. We look at two possible methods for identifying candidate morphemes, one using joint probabilities between two ngrams, and tile second based on log odds between prefix probabilities. Initial results indicate the joint probability approach to be better for English while tile prefix ratio approach is better for Finnish and Turkish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on a method for the stylistic segmentation of text documents. Our technique involves mapping the change in a feature throughout a text. We use the linguistic features of conjunction and modality, through taxonomies from Systemic Functional Linguistics. This segmentation has applications in automated summarization, particularly of large documents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A machine learning methodology for the disambiguation of acronym senses is presented, which starts from an acronym sense dictionary. Training data is automatically extracted from downloaded documents identified from the results of search engine queries. Leave-one-out cross-validation on 9,963 documents with 47 acronym forms achieves accuracy 92.58% and Fβ=1=91.52%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the high number of inflectional variations of Arabic words, empirical results suggest that stemming is essential for Arabic information retrieval. However, current light stemming algorithms do not extract the correct stem of irregular (so-called broken) plurals, which constitute ∼10% of Arabic texts and ∼41% of plurals. Although light stemming in particular has led to improvements in information retrieval [5, 6], the effects of broken plurals on the performance of information retrieval systems has not been examined. We propose a light stemmer that incorporates a broken plural recognition component, and evaluate it within the context of information retrieval. Our results show that identifying broken plurals and reducing them to their correct stems does result in a significant improvement in the performance of information retrieval systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the development of a free test collection for Chinese text categorization. A novel retrieval-based approach was developed to detect duplicates and label inconsistency in this corpus and in Reuters-21578 for comparison. The method was able to detect certain types of similar and/or duplicated documents that were overlooked by an alternative repetition-based method [1]. Experiments showed that effectiveness was not affected by the confusing documents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]