LINGUIST List 8.1508

Mon Oct 20 1997

Confs: Mathematical Linguistics

Editor for this issue: Anita Huang <anitalinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. by way of cmvastor.urv.es, Workshop on Mathematical Linguistics (WML)

 

 WORKSHOP ON MATHEMATICAL LINGUISTICS (WML)
 What should linguists expect from mathematical linguistics?

 (to be held concurrently with The XXVIII Linguistic Symposium on Romance 
Languages, LSRL 28, April 16-19, 1998, The Pennsylvania State University, 
 http://www.psu.edu/lsrl/)

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DATE

Friday, April, 17, 1998

GOALS

The WML will have two goals. First, it will provide an opportunity for 
specialists in mathematical linguistics to discuss the latest technical 
developments in the field. Secondly, it will explore the potential relevance 
of research in mathematical linguistics for theoretical linguistics. At 
present, many theoretical linguists assume that the formal apparatus 
developed in mathematical linguistics is of little use to their endeavors in 
accounting for natural language phenomena. This is likely due to the fact 
that such hotly debated issues as the context-freeness of natural language 
seem to have been put to rest. However, there are new developments in 
theoretical computer science which have reopened the question of whether or 
not natural language should be treated as a mathematical object.

SCOPE

For the purposes of the WML, "mathematical linguistics" is to be understood 
as formal language theory as it is applied to natural language description. 
Thus, the workshop will focus on language as a syntactical object 
describable by means of a formal grammar. Work on new mathematical results 
from such a viewpoint is welcome.

FORMAT

The workshop will include invited as well as refereed talks. Authors are 
encouraged to submit papers on any topic related to the goals of the 
workshop. The amount of time allotted to each presentation will be 30-45 
minutes.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS

The deadline for the submission of papers is January 17, 1998. Manuscripts 
should not exceed 4,000 words, and should include an abstract of no more 
than 250 words. They must be sent electronically in LaTeX format to: 
cmvastor.urv.es, cmvtinet.fut.es

Submissions will be reviewed by members of the Program Committee on the 
basis of their scientific value, their relevance to the goals of the 
workshop and their potential for generating constructive discussion.

Authors will be notified of the decision of the Program Committee by 
February 17, 1998.

PROGRAM COMMITTEE

Robert C. Berwick (MIT)
Alexis Manaster Ramer (Wayne State University)
Carlos Martin-Vide (Rovira i Virgili University)
Walter J. Savitch (University of California, San Diego)

REGISTRATION

Given space considerations, the total number of workshop attendees will be 
limited to 50. All participants must register for The XXVIII Linguistic 
Symposium on Romance Languages at a cost of $40 US for non-students and $25 
US for students. Attendees can either preregister at 
http://www.psu.edu/lsrl/ or register on-site the day of the workshop. There 
is no additional registration fee for the WML.

PUBLICATION OF PROCEEDINGS

To be determined

For further information on the WML, see the webpage: 
http://www.urv.es/Grups/grlmc