LINGUIST List 11.311

Tue Feb 15 2000

Calls: Natural Lang Generation, Ling Assoc/Southwest

Editor for this issue: Jody Huellmantel <jodylinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. Ralf Klabunde, International Conf on Natural Language Generation (INLG'2000)
2. Dan Villa, 29th Annual Linguistic Association of the Southwest Conf (LASSO)

 CALL FOR PAPERS: 

Why care for cognitive modeling when building NLG systems ? 

 Workshop to be held in conjunction with 
The International Conference on Natural Language Generation (INLG'2000)
 June 12-16, 2000, Mitzpe Ramon, Israel

Workshop home page: http://pc03.idf.uni-heidelberg.de/~ralf/wkshop


WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION

Natural Language Generation (NLG) exists now for many years as a
subdiscipline of computational linguistics. Many systems have been
built with different goals and from different perspectives. While some
approaches are strongly driven by engineering concerns, others are
more concerned with insights in human language production.

By organizing this workshop we pursue three goals: 

(a) to show that cognitive and engineering approaches, rather then being 
 mutually exclusive, are highly complementary; 
(b) to identify some of the loci where the human factor should be taken into 
 account; 
(c) to discuss then what methods could be used in order to enhance current 
 systems or architectures by means of cognitive models of human language 
 generation.

While there is no doubt that cognitive modeling is useful for testing
theories of human behavior, it is probably also quite useful in
cognitive engineering, that is, as a complementary methodology for
building systems. If the engineering point of view is overemphasised,
designers will be more concerned with the machine than with their
final users: people. In order to build truly user-friendly
NL-generators, i.e. systems which adapt themselves to users rather
than the other way around, we need a deeper understanding of the
knowledge and the processes that people use when producing
language. These kinds of insights can profitably be used when building
systems, especially if they are meant to be used by people.

At present, we observe a strong tendency towards an engineering
approach. While many researchers in the field have based their systems
on empirical research, their approach still remains more motivated by
engineering considerations (efficiency) then by psycho-linguistic
factors (the problems people face). Yet we do believe, that
integrating the human factor into the engineering approach would
greatly enhance the overall quality (adequacy, flexibility, scope) of
the existing systems.

To approach these goals, the workshop invites full papers that deal with 
any aspect of the following topics:

- ARCHITECTURE (flexibility, decomposition and control of the process) 
- CONTENT DETERMINATION / CONCEPTUALIZATION 
- NATURE OF THE INPUT (proximity to language) 
- OUTLINE PLANNING 
- NP-GENERATION (the problem of reference) 
- LEXICAL ACCESS 

For more information on the workshop and its topics have a look at the 
workshop homepage.


WORKSHOP ORGANIZERS
Gerard Kempen, University of Leiden, The Netherlands
kempenrulfsw.leidenuniv.nl

Ralf Klabunde, University of Heidelberg, Germany (Chair) 
klabundenovell1.gs.uni-heidelberg.de

Koenraad de Smedt, University of Bergen, Norway
deSmedthf.uib.no	

Michael Zock, LIMSI - CNRS, France
zocklimsi.fr


CONTACT INFORMATION FOR QUESTIONS
If you have any questions, please contact Michael Zock: zocklimsi.fr


FORMAT FOR SUBMISSION

Paper submissions should consist of full papers (maximum of 12 pages
including references, 12pt font size). Each submission should include
a separate title page providing the following information: the title,
a short abstract, names and affiliations of all the authors, the full
address of the primary author (or alternate contact person), including
phone, fax, and email. Electronic submissions are preferred, and
should be sent to Ralf Klabunde until March 20. We strongly advise
standard html for electronic submissions, but PostScript or PDF form
is also possible.

Ralf Klabunde
University of Heidelberg
Center for Computational Linguistics
Karlstr. 2
69117 Heidelberg, Germany 

klabundenovell1.gs.uni-heidelberg.de


IMPORTANT DATES
Paper submission deadline:		March 20 ����������� 
Notification of acceptance:		April 12 
Final paper to workshop�coordinator: May 2��������� 
Workshop:				June 12
INLG 2000:				June13 - June 16

********************************************************************

First Call for Papers: 29th Annual Linguistic Association of the Southwest
(LASSO) Conference

Abstracts are now being accepted for the 2000 meeting of the Linguistic
Association of the Southwest. Papers on any topic in linguistics will be
considered, though submissions on the conference theme of "Minority
Languages in the Americas" are particularly encouraged. Abstracts may be
in English or in Spanish. 

This is the first LASSO conference to be held in an international setting,
in Puebla, Mexico. Conference dates are October 13-15, 2000. Puebla is
Mexico's fourth largest city and is about two hours east of the capital,
Mexico City. Puebla is served by its own airport as well as by convenient,
easy, and modern bus transportation directly from the Mexico City
airport. Hotel accommodations, local and international cuisine, and
conference facilities in Puebla are excellent. A large number of cultural
attractions can be found nearby, including the world's largest pyramid in
Cholula, Maya-style paintings in Cacaxtla, and various churches,
cloisters, and monasteries.

The abstract deadline is June 1, 2000. Send submissions by email to
Dr. Harmon Boertien, <hboertienuh.edu>, or by regular mail to:

Dr. Harmon Boertien 
Vice President, LASSO 
Department of English 
University of Houston 
Houston, TX 77204-3012

For further information on the conference and for submitting an abstract,
visit LASSO's website, http://www.tamu-commerce.edu/swjl/lasso.html