LINGUIST List 5.838

Fri 22 Jul 1994

Qs: Tamil, Double superlatives, Syllable, MAT, Semitic list

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Directory

1. , Tamil
2. , Query: Double superlatives
3. stan kulikowski ii, syllable counting?
4. Linguistic Group, MAT of literary texts
5. Mr. Martin Zammit, Semitic list

Does anyone know of good *beginner's level* books for studying Tamil, and
how to get them? I'll be in Madras this winter...

Thanks!

Nicole Keshav

nicoleresearch.att.com

Can anyone direct me to published work on double superlatives in
English (e.g. _most brightest_) or double comparatives (e.g. _more
brighter_)? I an inquiring on behalf of a student who is interested
in both sociolinguistic and grammatical-theory aspects.
Thanks, Andrew
Andrew Carstairs-McCarthy
Department of Linguistics, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800,
Christchurch, New Zealand
Phone +64-3-364 2211; home phone +64-3-355 5108
Fax +64-3-364
 2065


e-mail a.carstairs-mccarthycsc.canterbury.ac.nz

 is english the only language whose written form has a strange rule like
silent-e in its syllable counting? my typical english syllable-counting
algorithm requires a one letter lookback. increment syllable count
whenever you encounter:

 (LETTER in VOWELS) and not (LAST_LETTER in VOWELS)

the silent-e rule decrements to syllable counts when this happens:

 (LETTER in WORD_BOUNDARY) and
 (upcase(LAST_LETTER) = 'E') and
 (SYLLABLES_IN_WORD > 1)

 do you know other languages with alphabetic text which use strange rules
for counting syllables?
 stan

 . stankuliUWF.bitnet
 === part of knowing who you are
 : : is knowing who you ain't
 --- -- lacey j dalton

To the best of our knowledge (we may be wrong) all of the MT and MAT done
so far is confined to science and technology texts. We visualise that
the contribution that computational linguistic tools/automated tools can
make to the translation of LITERARY texts can also be substantial, with
appropriate modifications. But one major preliminary hurdle is how to
overcome the phobia and prejudice with which people in the humanities and
social sciences in general, and literary people in particular, view the
computer and its use.

A colleague and I are very keen to work on this problem. We are trying
to promote the potentials that electronic assistance has to offer to the
translator of literary texts, in finding the right balance for addressing
problems of interpretation arising from differing ethnocentric
perspectives between source and target texts. Particularly, we are
looking at how best to present (to the 'computer-unfriendly' mind):

- the integration of electronic dictionaries with computerized textual
corpora
- availibility of information retrieval tools, and globalisation of
translation resources by utilising electronic networking infrastructure
- creation of lexical knowledge bases and representation of culture
specific information about words/expressions/concepts

However, we are severely hampered by the lack of resource materials in
this area currently available in our university. Any comments,
bibliographical leads, sources available via Internet, information on
contact with researchers in this area, or your own suggestions would be
very welcome. Please send to:
lalitacs.usm.my
aishahcs.usm.my

Will post a summary if there is interest. Thank you.

Lalita & Aishah

To colleagues on the Linguist list:

We are very interested to know whether there exists a separate E-Mail listing
for Semitic languages. Colleagues' feedback and remarks would be appreciated.

Best regards,
M.Zammit
Institute of Linguistics - Malta.