LINGUIST List 12.1669

Wed Jun 27 2001

Calls: World Englishes, Logic Programming/NLP

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

Directory

1. Bertus Van Rooy, World Englishes
2. Rolf Schwitter, Logic Programming for Natural Language Processing

Call for papers and Call for Participation

The 8th International Aassociation of World Englishes (IAWE) Conference is 
hosted by the Potchefstroom University in Potchefstroom, South Africa from 
29 November - 1 December 2001. The conference theme is:

The globalisation and localisation of Englishes: partners or adversaries?

As the circles of Englishes widen, the tension between globalisation and 
localisation is thrust to the foreground. English as a global language 
serves as medium of cross-cultural communication, but precisely because it 
is used in many different local contexts, it particularises. Particularisat
ion is a cause of concern if it undermines the use of English as cross-cult
ural communication tool, and in that sense sets itself up as adversary to 
the global use of English. At the same time, to be a useful instrument in 
different specific contexts, Englishes have to particularise themselves, 
or fail to fulfil the most fundamental needs of their speakers. Localisation 
is therefore also a necessary partner to globalisation.

We invite papers that explore this tension from the perspectives of the 
forms and functions, the sociolinguistics, the teaching and the literatures
of World Englishes.

Submission of Abstracts

Abstracts for 40-minute presentations (30 minutes for paper, 10 minutes 
for questions) should be submitted to the Programme Chair, Bertus van 
Rooy. A submission should include an abstract of =B1200 words, as well as 
a longer summary of 500-700 words, with references. The shorter abstract 
should be headed by the title of your presentation, your name and your 
affiliation. The longer summary should include your full contact details, 
including e-mail address and postal address. Abstracts can be sent via 
e-mail (Word 97/2000, Word Perfect 6/7/8, Acrobat or PostScript attachments
 are welcome, or include both the abstract and the summary in the text of 
your message). Alternatively, abstracts can be sent via regular mail. 
The addresses for the abstracts are:

E-mail: nffajvrpuknet.puk.ac.za

Surface mail:
Bertus van Rooy
School of Languages
Potchefstroom University
Private Bag X6001
Potchefstroom
2520
South Africa

Deadline for submission of abstracts is 31 August 2001.

Conference fees are R1000 (South African Rand, about US$125 at current 
exchange rates), including all lunches, dinners and transport from the 
Johannesburg International Airport to Potchefstroom.

Further detail, including information about registration, accommodation
and the venue, can be accessed on the website of the IAWE at http://we.pdx.edu/

Enquiries can be directed at the conference organiser, Daan Wissing, at 
nffdpwpuknet.puk.ac.za or Bertus van Rooy at nffajvrpuknet.puk.ac.za

 2nd Call for Papers - INAP2001
 -------------------------------------------

 Workshop on Logic Programming for Natural Language Processing
 20-22 October 2001
 University of Tokyo (Sanjo Conference Hall)
 Tokyo, Japan

 -------------------------------------------

Purpose

We are going to organize a Workshop on Logic Programming for Natural
Language Processing at the INAP2001 conference that will be held at the
University of Tokyo from 20-22 October 2001. The workshop intends to
bring researchers and practitioners in the fields of logic programming
(LP) and natural language processing (NLP) together. LP and NLP stand in
a natural alliance and can complement each other in a fruitful way as
the research of the last two decades has proven. Logic builds the
natural basis for natural language semantics and using LP for
implementing natural language systems throughout reduces the need for
complex interfaces between syntax, semantics and other knowledge
sources. On the other hand unification-based linguistic theories (e.g.
HPSG, LFG, GPSG) inspired the development of elegant LP formalisms.

The goal of the workshop is to review and assess which LP techniques and
linguistic theories found their way into practical NLP applications and
which techniques and theories have a potential to be used in the near
future. We invite the submissions of papers on research on all aspects
of logic programming for natural language processing. Authors are
especially encouraged to submit papers that have a potential impact on
practical real world applications. We invite people from both industry
and academia working on logic-based NLP applications to send us their
submissions and offer an opportunity to discuss and demonstrate their
latest ideas on NLP applications of logic programming in front of an
avid audience.

Specific topic areas relevant to the workshop include, but are not
limited to:

 * LP for NL syntax and parsing
 * LP for NL semantics, terminology, and pragmatics
 * LP and discourse representation
 * constraint programming and grammars
 * grammar and style checking systems
 * question answering systems
 * information extraction systems
 * dialog systems
 * machine translation systems


Workshop Organizers

Akira Ishikawa, Sophia University, Tokyo (ishikawasophia.ac.jp)
Rolf Schwitter, Macquarie University, Sydney (schwittics.mq.edu.au.)


Submission Format

Submissions should not exceed 6 pages and have to be prepared according
to the format rules of the INAP2001 conference. Since it is planned to
publish a post-conference book/proceedings in the Springer Lecture Notes
in Artificial Intelligence LNCS/LNAI series you should use the LNCS
formatting guidelines to prepare your submission (and to reduce
downstream work later). We only accept electronic submissions of PDF or
PostScript files. If we cannot print your file by the submission date it
will be rejected without being reviewed. Therefore you are encouraged to
send an early version with the typographical complexity of your final
intended version so that we can check it is printable. Electronic
submissions should be sent to schwittics.mq.edu.au.


Extended Deadlines

Electronic submissions must be received by Friday 27th July 2001.
Notification of receipt will be mailed to the first author (or
designated author) soon after receipt. Authors will be notified of
acceptance by Friday 17th August 2001. Camera-ready copies of final
version must be received by Friday 31st August 2001.

- 
Rolf Schwitter Email: schwittics.mq.edu.au
Department of Computing Phone: +61 2 9850 9533
Macquarie University
NSW 2109 / Australia