Natural language processing

Beginning with the basic issues of NLP, this chapter aims to chart the major research activities in this area since the last ARIST Chapter in 1996 (Haas, 1996), including: (i) natural language text processing systems - text summarization, information extraction, information retrieval, etc., including domain-specific applications; (ii) natural language interfaces; (iii) NLP in the context of www and digital libraries ; and (iv) evaluation of NLP systems

Grounding Dynamic Spatial Relations for Embodied (Robot) Interaction

This paper presents a computational model of the processing of dynamic spatial relations occurring in an embodied robotic interaction setup. A complete system is introduced that allows autonomous robots to produce and interpret dynamic spatial phrases (in English) given an environment of moving objects. The model unites two separate research strands: computational cognitive semantics and on commonsense spatial representation and reasoning. The model for the first time demonstrates an integration of these different strands.Comment: in: Pham, D.-N. and Park, S.-B., editors, PRICAI 2014: Trends in Artificial Intelligence, volume 8862 of Lecture Notes in Computer Science, pages 958-971. Springe

Syntactic Complexity and Frequency in the Neurocognitive Language System

Prominent neurobiological models of language follow the widely accepted assumption that language comprehension requires two principal mechanisms: a lexicon storing the sound-to-meaning mapping of words, primarily involving bilateral temporal regions, and a combinatorial processor for syntactically structured items, such as phrases and sentences, localized in a left-lateralized network linking left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) and posterior temporal areas. However, recent research showing that the processing of simple phrasal sequences may engage only bilateral temporal areas, together with the claims of distributional approaches to grammar, raises the question of whether frequent phrases are stored alongside individual words in temporal areas. In this fMRI study, we varied the frequency of words and of short and long phrases in English. If frequent phrases are indeed stored, then only less frequent items should generate selective left frontotemporal activation, because memory traces for such items would be weaker or not available in temporal cortex. Complementary univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that, overall, simple words (verbs) and long phrases engaged LIFG and temporal areas, whereas short phrases engaged bilateral temporal areas, suggesting that syntactic complexity is a key factor for LIFG activation. Although we found a robust frequency effect for words in temporal areas, no frequency effects were found for the two phrasal conditions. These findings support the conclusion that long and short phrases are analyzed, respectively, in the left frontal network and in a bilateral temporal network but are not retrieved from memory in the same way as simple words during spoken language comprehension.This research was supported by an Advanced Investigator grant to W. M. W. from the European Research Council (AdG 230570 NEUROLEX) and by MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit (CBSU) funding to W. M. W. (U.1055.04.002.00001.01). Com- puting resources were provided by the MRC CBSU

A Resource Handbook for Planning and Implementing an Integrated Preschool Program

The purpose of this project was to design and develop a resource handbook to assist teachers and administrators responsible for implementing an integrated preschool program. To accomplish this purpose, research and literature relative to current integration delivery models, primarily those in Washington State were reviewed. The handbook developed was piloted in the Taholah, Washington School District

The relative value of recall and recognition techniques for measuring precise knowledge of word meaning nouns, verbs, adjectives

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University. This item was digitized by the Internet Archive

Emphatic Repetition in Spoken Arabic

This paper identifies and explains Arabic emphatic repetition in ethnographic interviews against the general backdrop of an understanding of non-pragmatically motivated repetition in Spoken Arabic. It also considers the basic linguistic resources for expressing intensity in the lexicon and syntax and the significance of repetition as one of these resources. The latter part of the paper explains how these resources are drawn on in interaction and what other types of spontaneous immediate emphatic repetition occur. This approach allows for a nuanced interpretation of the salience of emphatic repetition in this spoken Arabic genre. The discussion contributes to our general understanding of the essence of repetition that allows it to be used as a productive interactive resource