nl-kr-request@CS.ROCHESTER.EDU (NL-KR Moderator Brad Miller) (05/17/88)
NL-KR Digest (5/16/88 18:47:27) Volume 4 Number 52 Today's Topics: Re: help Seminar: Semantics of Verbal Modifiers ... (UNISYS) CMU/CMT Conference Brochure Submissions: NL-KR@CS.ROCHESTER.EDU Requests, policy: NL-KR-REQUEST@CS.ROCHESTER.EDU ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 6 May 88 20:39 EDT From: John Chambers <jc@minya.UUCP> Subject: Re: help In article <354@aplcomm.UUCP>, jwm@stdc.jhuapl.edu (James W. Meritt) writes: > > Would someone please email/post proofs/disproofs/references to the following: > > "Any statement in one language can be translated into any other without loss" > As stated, this certainly requires qualifications, as it is demonstrably false in a rather trivial sense. Consider the Null language, i.e., the one with no words or syntax or anything else. If this is the target language, then the above statement is obviously false. The above statement is true, however, in a rather important sense, if you will allow two qualifications: 1) The two language are both "natural" languages in routine use by groups of people for several generations (i.e., no pidgins allowed); and 2) The translation may have (many) more words than the original. Without the second qualification, it is very easy to find counter-examples. You just make a statement in language X which uses some very vague, general words for which language Y has only a set of more precise words. One example from English is the word "go", which is more general than the available words in many other languages. Thus, a correct translation of "I'm going to the store" would require NOT indicating whether I intend to walk or ride, as well as not indicating whether I'm doing it right now or intend to in the near future. Both forms of vagueness are difficult to express in German or Russian (two languages with which I have some familarity). The meaning of the quoted proposition is twofold. First, it is certainly possible to make a simple statement in German or Russian with a very similar effect, although it may contain more information than the English. Second, with a few extra words, it is rather easy to explain the meaning of this simple English statement in German or Russian. The fact that an exact, word-for-word translation isn't possible doesn't mean that the concepts can't be communicated. You can always get the concepts across; you just might require a bit of explaining along the way. The primary "proof" of this proposition is done by challenging a disbeliever to give a statement in some language X which can't be expressed (to any level of detail desired) in language Y, where X and Y can range across all the languages spoken on the planet. It turns out to be remarkably difficult to find such a statement. There are, of course, many claims in the media to the effect that "the concept C can't be expressed in language L". These are invariably quite false; all you have to do is find a native speaker of L, and you'll get a translation quite quickly (if he/she understands the English statement). It'd be real interesting to find such an example. Most linguists believe it can't be done. -- John Chambers <{adelie,ima,maynard,mit-eddie}!minya!{jc,root}> (617/484-6393) You can't make a turtle come out. -- Malvina Reynolds ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 May 88 15:18 EDT From: finin@PRC.Unisys.COM Subject: Seminar: Semantics of Verbal Modifiers ... (UNISYS) AI SEMINAR UNISYS PAOLI RESEARCH CENTER Defining the Semantics of Verbal Modifiers in the Domain of Cooking Tasks Robin F. Karlin Computer and Information Science University of Pennsylvania SEAFACT (Semantic Analysis For the Animation of Cooking Tasks) is a natural language interface to a computer-generated animation system operating in the domain of cooking tasks. SEAFACT allows the user to specify cooking tasks using a small subset of English. The system analyzes English input and produces a representation of the task which can drive motion synthesis procedures. This talk describes the semantic analysis of verbal modifiers on which the SEAFACT implementation is based. 2:00 pm Tuesday, May 19 Paoli Auditorium Unisys Paoli Research Center Route 252 and Central Ave. Paoli PA 19311 -- non-Unisys visitors who are interested in attending should -- -- send email to finin@prc.unisys.com or call 215-648-7446 -- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 May 88 22:48 EDT From: Rita.McCardell@NL.CS.CMU.EDU Subject: CMU/CMT Conference Brochure Second International Conference on Theoretical and Methodological Issues in Machine Translation of Natural Languages June 12 - 14, 1988 Hamburg Hall Center for Machine Translation Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213 *** Purpose *** The field of Machine Translation (MT) has gradually regained its importance as an academic discipline and an engineering application. The number of research teams in MT has grown significantly over the past five years, and correspondingly, the rate of progress, measured both in the scientific output and the technological innovation has become increasingly steep. The requirements for information exchange in the field have grown accordingly. The conference is aimed at fulfilling that requirement for information exchange. *** Topics of the Conference *** The conference will cover a wide set of interrelated topics in machine translation including: parsing, generation, computational lexicons, multiple approaches to translation (knowledge-based, interactive, post and pre-editing, etc...), theoretical and comparative analysis, case studies, computational tools for the system developer or translator, and new algorithms and architectures for natural language processing. *** Center for Machine Translation *** The Center for Machine Translation was established at Carnegie Mellon University in July 1986. The center is dedicated to the development of a new generation of machine translation systems with capabilities ranging far beyond the current technology. Current research initiatives include: knowledge-based machine translation, knowledge representation and acquisition, unification algorithms, multilingual parsing algorithms, fluent text generation and development of computational lexicons, grammars and knowledge bases. *** Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University *** Pittsburgh has been identified as the nation's most livable city according to the Rand McNally survey based on education, recreation, the arts, housing, health care, low crime rate, favorable cost of living, economics and transportation. Pittsburgh is the home of the world acclaimed Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Ballet Theater and Pittsburgh Opera. Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh are the most prominent of about 30 universities and colleges in the vicinity of the city. Carnegie Mellon is a leader in computer science, robotics and artificial intelligence. *** Registration *** Preregistration must be received by May 1, 1988. However, LATE REGISTRATIONS BY MAIL WILL BE ACCEPTED UNTIL JUNE 3, 1988. After June 3, please wait to register at the conference itself. Registration Meals(*) Total Students By May 1 $45 $75 $120 $90 Late $65 $75 $140 $110 Registration (*) Meals include coffee breaks, 3 luncheons, reception and Banquet. We recommend that the participants select the meal plan. *** Conference Program and Schedule *** Saturday, June 11 Participants arrive in Pittsburgh Sunday, June 12 --- General Session --- 8:30 am Registration/Coffee & Donuts 8:50 am Welcome --- Session 1: Issues in Analysis I --- 9:00 am "Meaning Understanding in Machine Translation" Hirosato Nomura, Kyushu Institute of Technology (Japan) 9:30 am "Coordination: Some Problems and Solutions for Parsing English with an ATN" Lee Ann Schwartz, Pan American Health Organization (United States) 10:00 am "A Method of Analyzing Japanese Speech Act Types" Kiyoshi Kogure, Hitoshi Iida, Kei Yoshimoto, Hiroyuki Maeda, Masako Kume, Susumu Kato, ATR (Japan) 10:30 am COFFEE --- Session 2: Issues in Generation --- 11:00 am "On Lexical Selection in MT Generation" Sergei Nirenburg, Rita McCardell, Eric Nyberg, Scott Huffman, Edward Kenschaft, Irene Nirenburg, Carnegie Mellon University (United States) 11:30 am "Natural Language Generation using the Meaning Text Model" Richard Kittredge, A. Polguere, L. Jordanskaya University of Montreal (Canada) --- Session 3: EUROTRA Perspectives --- Noon "'Relaxed' Compositionality in MT" Doug Arnold, University of Essex (United Kingdom) Steven Krauwer, Louis des Tombe University of Utrecht (Netherlands) Louisa Sadler, University of Essex (United Kingdom) 12:30 pm "CAT2 - Implementing a Formalism for Multi-Lingual MT" Randall Sharp, IAI (West Germany) 1:00 pm LUNCH --- Panel 1: Real-Time Interpretive MT --- 2:30 pm Masaru Tomita (Chair), Carnegie Mellon University (United States) Shin-ya Amano, Toshiba (Japan) Raj Reddy, Carnegie Mellon University (United States) Akira Kurematsu, ATR (Japan) 4:00 pm DEMONSTRATIONS 5:30 pm RECEPTION 6:30 pm DINNER Monday, June 13 8:30 am Coffee & Donuts --- Session 4: Grammatical Issues --- 9:00 am "Functional Descriptions as a Formalism for Linguistic Knowledge Representation in a Generation Oriented Approach" Miyo Otani, Nathalie Simonin, Cap Sogeti Innovation (France) 9:30 am "Computational Complexity of Left-Associative Grammar" Roland Hausser, Universitat Munchen (West Germany) 10:00 am "Reversible Logic Grammars for MT" Pierre Isabelle, Canadian Workplace Automation Research Center (Canada) 10:30 am COFFEE --- Session 5: System Descriptions --- 11:00 am "ETOC: A MAHT System Using Approximate Text-Matching Based on Heuristic Rules" E. Sumita, Y. Tsutsumi, IBM (Japan) 11:30 am "ATLAS: A MT System by Interlingua" Hiroshi Uchida, Fujitsu (Japan) Noon "Translational Ambiguity Rephrased" Danit Ben-Ari, Mory Rimon, IBM (Israel) Daniel M. Berry, Technion (Israel) 12:30 pm "A Principle-based Korean/Japanese MT System: NARA" Hee-Sung Chung, E & I Research (Korea) 1:00 pm LUNCH --- Session 6: Issues in Analysis II --- 2:30 pm "A Comparative Study of Japanese and English Sublanguage Patterns" Virginia Teller, Hunter College SUNY (United States) Michiko Kosaka, Monmouth College (United States) Ralph Grishman, New York University (United States) 3:00 pm "Noun Phrase Identification in Dialogue and its Application" Izuru Nogaito, Hitoshi Iida, ATR (Japan) 3:30 pm COFFEE --- Panel 2: Paradigms for MT --- 4:00 pm Jaime Carbonell (Chair), Carnegie Mellon University (United States) Harold Sommers, UMIST (United Kingdom) Peter Brown, IBM (United States) Victor Raskin, Purdue University (United States) 6:00 pm DINNER - Mt. Washington (**) Tuesday, June 14 8:30 am Coffee & Donuts --- Session 7: Methodological Considerations --- 9:00 am "Methodological Considerations in the METAL Project" Winfield Bennett, University of Texas (United States) 9:30 am "Application of a Natural Language Interface to a MT Problem" John S. White, Heidi M. Johnson, Yukiko Sekine Martin Marietta Corporation (United States) Gil C. Kim, Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (Korea) 10:00 am "Complex Procedures for MT Quality" Michael Zarechnak, Georgetown University (United States) 10:30 am COFFEE --- Panel 3: Historical Perspectives --- 11:00 am Makoto Nagao (Chair), Kyoto University (Japan) Christian Boitet, Universite de Grenoble (France) Rolf Stachowitz, Lockheed Artificial Intelligence Center (United States) 12:30 pm LUNCH and CONCLUDING REMARKS *** Special Events *** (**) Ride the century-old Duquesne incline to reach the observation deck for a spectacular view of the city. Then enjoy a dinner on Mt. Washington overlooking the famous Golden Triangle, formed at the union of the Allegheny, Monangahela and Ohio rivers in the heart of Pittsburgh. Rides to Mt. Washington leave at 6:00 p.m., June 13, from the conference site. Price $45.00. *** Accommodations & Transportation *** *** Student Dormitories *** A block of undergraduate dormitory rooms has been reserved for those participants desiring inexpensive rooms situated on the Carnegie Mellon campus, the site of the conference. These are single rooms in Morewood Gardens, with a semi-private bath (two single rooms share one bath), at $20.00, per night. Rooms will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. If you are interested in reserving a single accommodation at Morewood Gardens, please promptly mail in the enclosed registration form. *** University Inn *** Fifty single rooms have also been blocked at the University Inn, Oakland, a fifteen minute walk from the campus. The University Inn accommodations will also be assigned on a first-come, first-serve basis. Reservations may be made directly with the hotel by calling 412-683-6000, toll free (800) 242-1498 in Pennsylvania or toll free (800) 245-6675 in the United States. When reserving a room specify the conference name, MT CONFERENCE, to receive the discounted single room rate of $63.00 per night. *** Alternate Pittsburgh Hotels *** The following is a list of addresses and telephone numbers for deluxe hotels (price range $80 to $120) located within the city. Please be aware that it would be necessary for those participants staying at any of the following hotels to provide their own transportation to the conference site. For your convenience we suggest that you make the reservations as soon as possible since there are other major events occurring at the same time as the conference at Carnegie Mellon University. Sheraton Hotel Vista Hotel at Station Square 960 Penn Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15219 Pittsburgh, PA 15222 412-261-2000 412-281-3700 Hyatt Hotel William Penn Hotel 112 Washington Place William Penn Place Pittsburgh, PA 15222 Pittsburgh, PA 15222 412-471-1234 412-281-7100 *** Airport Limousine Service *** Limousine service is available between Greater Pittsburgh International Airport and Oakland. Enquire about "Ground Transportation" at the airport. This service provides direct transportation from the airport to the University Inn, Oakland, Sheraton Hotel at Station Square, and the William Penn Hotel - Downtown. Please make sure you board the correct limousine. *** Program Committee: *** Chistian Boitet, University of Grenoble Jaime G. Carbonell, Carnegie Mellon University Martin Kay, Xerox-Palo Alto Research Center Makoto Nagao, Kyoto University Sergei Nirenburg, Carnegie Mellon University Victor Raskin, Purdue University Masaru Tomita, Carnegie Mellon University Requests for more information or applications contact: MT CONFERENCE: Center for Machine Translation Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA 15213 (412) 268-6591 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ REGISTRATION FORM MT Conference, June 12-14, 1988 CMT, Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213-3890 Name: ________________________________________________________________________ Address: _____________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Telephone: ___________________________________________________________________ Computer Net Address: ________________________________________________________ *** Conference Registration Fee: *** Standard ______ $140.00 (US$) Student ______ $110.00 (US$) Mt. Washington Dinner ______ $ 45.00 (US$) *** Student Dormitories *** Single Room x _____days $________ (US$) (for the days from: _____ at $20/night to: _____) Total Enclosed $________ (US$) Male _____ Female _____ Please make the checks payable to "MT CONFERENCE". Checks must be issued in US DOLLARS. ------------------------------ End of NL-KR Digest ******************* ---- Brad Miller U. Rochester Comp Sci Dept. miller@cs.rochester.edu {...allegra!rochester!miller}