A Note on Emergence in Multi-Agent String Processing Systems

We propose a way to define (and, in a certain extent, even to measure) the phenomenon of emergence which appears in a complex system of interacting agents whose global behaviour can be described by a language and whose components (agents) can also be associated with grammars and languages. The basic idea is to identify the "linear composition of behaviours" with "closure under basic operations", such as the AFL (Abstract Families of Languages) operations, which are standard in the theory of formal languages

Workshop on Formal Languages, Automata and Petri Nets

This report contains abstracts of the lectures presented at the workshop 'Formal Languages, Automata and Petri-Nets' held at the University of Stuttgart on January 16-17, 1998. The workshop brought together partners of the German-Hungarian project No. 233.6, Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Germany, and No. D/102, TeT Foundation, Budapest, Hungary. It provided an opportunity to present work supported by this project as well as related topics

Linguistic Nature of Prenasalization

The linguistic nature of the class of sounds which are traditionally called prenasalized consonants (PNCs) has never been adequately explored. The purpose of this work is to provide a descriptively adequate framework in which to characterize PNCs, and to express their behavior most generally. This is done within the theory of generative phonology (essentially the Standard Theory of Chomsky and Halle 1968), incorporating a theory of markedness and syllabification. It is argued that PNCs cannot be described adequately as monosegmental entities in linguistic theory. Rather, PNCs in all languages are claimed to be sequences of homorganic nasal and oral consonant in underlying phonological representations, which surface in systematic phonetic representation as (tautosyllabic) syllable onsets. For a language to exhibit such onsets, it must contain a costly (language-specific) syllabification rule which converts the unmarked syllabified string XN$CY (whose syllabification is given by universal convention) into the marked structure X$NCY, where $represents the syllable boundary. There is no linguistic level, nor any stage in phonological derivations, where PNCs must be represented monosegmentally, nor at which the characteristically brief nasal onset period must be referred to as an internal component of an oral consonant. Such properties as are necessary to fully characterize PNCs as physical-phonetic events are assigned to systematic phonetic$NC sequences by mechanisms within a phonetic performance theory. One of the very few languages where PNCs appear to contrast directly with ordinary heterosyllabic clusters of homorganic nasal and oral consonants is Sinhalese, an Indoeuropean language of Sri Lanka (Ceylon). An analysis of this language, and a similar case in the West African language Fula, are presented, and strong evidence is provided for the adequacy of a sequential analysis of prenasalization, in spite of the apparent contrast. The analysis of Sinhalese also reveals a rich interaction between the behavior of PNCs and the general syllable structure of the language. This relationship can be revealingly expressed only if the notion of the syllable is formally available in phonological theory

Juntando mais peças ao puzzle do léxico da LPG: três estudos pilotos

The main goal of this article is to present several pieces of the “puzzle” concerning Portuguese Sign Language (LGP) lexicon – polissemy, linguistic specialization of forms and the sign’s history throughout time –, thus demonstrating how these pieces fit into the linguistic mechanism of human creativity and the dynamic evolution of languages, two privileged factors in cultural expression. O principal objectivo deste artigo foi apresentar as várias peças que compõem o puzzle do léxico da Língua Gestual Portuguesa (LGP) – a polissemia, a especialização linguística das formas e a história dos gestos através do tempo – demonstrando como essas peças se emolduram no mecanismo linguístico da criatividade humana e da evolução dinâmica das línguas, enquanto factores privilegiados de expressão cultural. &nbsp

Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference Formal Approaches to South Slavic and Balkan languages

Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference Formal Approaches to South Slavic and Balkan Languages publishes 17 papers that were presented at the conference organised in Dubrovnik, Croatia, 4-6 Octobre 2010