Small conjunctive varieties of regular languages

The author's modification of Eilenberg theorem relates the so-called conjunctive varieties of regular languages with pseudovarieties of idempotent semirings. Recent results by Pastijn and his co-authors lead to the description of the lattice of all (pseudo)varieties of idempotent semirings with idempotent multiplication. We describe here the corresponding 78 varieties of languages

On Varieties of Automata Enriched with an Algebraic Structure (Extended Abstract)

Eilenberg correspondence, based on the concept of syntactic monoids, relates varieties of regular languages with pseudovarieties of finite monoids. Various modifications of this correspondence related more general classes of regular languages with classes of more complex algebraic objects. Such generalized varieties also have natural counterparts formed by classes of finite automata equipped with a certain additional algebraic structure. In this survey, we overview several variants of such varieties of enriched automata.Comment: In Proceedings AFL 2014, arXiv:1405.527

The Complexity of Separation for Levels in Concatenation Hierarchies

We investigate the complexity of the separation problem associated to classes of regular languages. For a class C, C-separation takes two regular languages as input and asks whether there exists a third language in C which includes the first and is disjoint from the second. First, in contrast with the situation for the classical membership problem, we prove that for most classes C, the complexity of C-separation does not depend on how the input languages are represented: it is the same for nondeterministic finite automata and monoid morphisms. Then, we investigate specific classes belonging to finitely based concatenation hierarchies. It was recently proved that the problem is always decidable for levels 1/2 and 1 of any such hierarchy (with inefficient algorithms). Here, we build on these results to show that when the alphabet is fixed, there are polynomial time algorithms for both levels. Finally, we investigate levels 3/2 and 2 of the famous Straubing-Th\'erien hierarchy. We show that separation is PSPACE-complete for level 3/2 and between PSPACE-hard and EXPTIME for level 2

From the “trapped language” to the hybridized language: An educational dilemma in teaching Kinyarwanda

Kinyarwanda - the language of Rwanda - appears to be one of the world‟s most complex and possibly richest, but increasingly endangered by foreign influences. The language complex features are particularly associated with the multiplicity of its morphemes and their agglutination to form its words (or sentences), as well as its extra-ordinary lexical variability and expressivity. Conversely, its richness seems to be increasingly overshadowed by a culture of language simplification and hybridization that affect key aspects of the language, which might be stemming from cultural crossbreeding that the Rwandan society has been undergoing for some years. The diversity of languages spoken by Rwandese who returned to their homeland after many years of exile in other linguistic cultures for example, colors, influences or hybridizes the standard Kinyarwanda. The present article argues therefore, that hybridization of the language has educational implications, and educators are often confronted by many unanswered questions that may include: „„What is the standard Kinyarwanda?‟‟, “To what extent can the foreign influences and related dilemma be tolerated during the learning and teaching process?‟‟ and, “How can educators deal with these?‟‟ The article attempts to explore the basis of these key questions, and basing on the findings of research conducted in the field of education including non-formal education, it sounds a wakeup call to all teacher trainers, especially those of Kigali Institute of Education, to reflect on their profession and their roles in shaping the future generation of the country - Rwanda.RésuméLe kinyarwanda - langue du Rwanda – semble être l‟une des langues les plus complexes et certainement les plus riches au monde, mais de plus en plus mise en danger par les influences étrangères. Ses traits complexes sont en particulier liés tout autant à la multiplicité de ses morphèmes et à leur agglutination pour former les mots (ou les phrases), qu‟à ses extraordinaires variabilité et expressivité lexicales. Inversement, cette richesse semble être de plus en plus éclipsée par la culture de la simplification et de l‟hybridation de la langue, qui peut découler du métissage culturel auquel la société rwandaise est soumise depuis quelques années. Les diverses langues parlées par les Rwandais qui ont regagné le bercail après plusieurs années d‟exil dans d‟autres cultures linguistiques, par exemple, colorent, influencent ou hybridisent le kinyarwanda standard. Le présent article soutient ainsi l‟idée que l‟hybridation de la langue a des implications éducationnelles, et les éducateurs sont souvent confrontés à plusieurs questions, qui restent sans réponses, du type: „‟Qu‟est-ce que le kinyarwanda standard?‟‟, ‟‟Jusqu‟à quel niveau les influences étrangères et le dilemme qui en résulte peuvent-ils être tolérés pendant le processus d‟enseignement-apprentissage?‟‟ et „‟Comment les éducateurs peuvent-ils les traiter?‟‟ Cet article tente d‟analyser le bien-fondé de ces questions-clés et, sur base des résultats de cette recherche menée dans le domaine de l‟éducation -incluant l‟éducation non formelle, elle se veut être un cri d‟alarme en direction des formateurs d‟enseignants, spécialement ceux de Kigali Institute of Education, pour qu‟ils réfléchissent sur leur profession et sur leur rôle dans le modelage de la future génération de leur pays, le Rwanda.Key words: Kinyarwanda, simplification, hybridization, tolerance, educatio

Cohesion and translation variation: Corpus-based analysis of translation varieties

In this study, we analyse cohesion in human and machine translations that we call `translation varieties' as defined by Lapshinova-Koltunski (2017) -- translation types differing in the translation methods involved. We expect variation in the distribution of different cohesive devices which occur in translations. Variation in translation can be caused by different factors, e.g. by systemic contrasts or ambiguities in both source and target languages. It is known that variation in English-to-German translations depends on devices of cohesion involved. We extract quantitative evidence for cohesive devices from a corpus and analyse them with descriptive techniques to see where the differences lie. We include not only English-German translation into our analyses, but also also English and German non-translated texts, representing the source and the target language. Similarities and differences between translated and non-translated texts could provide us with the information on the original of this variation, which might be caused by translationese features

A Judaeo-Arabic Biblical Glossary as a Source for Arabic Historical Dialectology

MS T-S Ar.5.58 is a translation glossary from the Cairo Geniza that contains a list of Judaeo-Arabic glosses for Hebrew words from the biblical book of Samuel. These Arabic words are fully vocalised with the Tiberian Hebrew pointing system, providing more precise phonetic information about the scribe’s native Arabic dialect than could be expressed with standard Arabic vowel signs. This pointing reveals linguistic features known from modern varieties of vernacular Arabic, including a conditional tendency to raise /a/ to /e/ and a reflex of ǧīm as /g/. The manuscript can be dated between the tenth and twelfth centuries, making it an important source for the history of spoken medieval Arabic and Middle Arabic writing.</jats:p