ARABIC-L: LING: AML Call for Papers

[Dilworth B. Parkinson]

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Arabic-L: Wed 28 Apr 1999
Moderator: Dilworth Parkinson <dilworth_parkinson at byu.edu>
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1) Subject: Conference on Analogical Modeling of Language (AML)

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1)
Date: 28 Apr 1999
From: Kirk Belnap <rkb at email.byu.edu>
Subject: Conference on Analogical Modeling of Language (AML)

FYI: We expect at least two or three papers focusing on Arabic at this
conference.  For example, Dil Parkinson and I are working on Arabic broken
plurals.

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     	Conference on Analogical Modeling of Language (AML)
                       Call for Papers


 Date:	Thursday and Friday, 23-24 March 2000
 Location:	Brigham Young University (BYU)
                Provo, Utah USA


The purpose of this conference will be to bring together researchers in
Royal Skousen's theory of analogical modeling of language (AML) as well as
various other exemplar-based approaches to describing language. Most of the
conference will concentrate on AML, but invitations to present are extended
to other exemplar-based researchers who have compared AML with their own
work.

Brief description of AML:

During the last two decades, as rule approaches have encountered
difficulties explaining language behavior, several competing non-rule
approaches to language have been developed. First was the development (or
rejuvenation) of neural networks, more commonly known in linguistics as
connectionism. More recently, numerous researchers have turned to
exemplar-based systems (sometimes known as instance-based systems or "lazy
learning") to explain language behavior. These exemplar-based learning
systems involve hunting for the most similar instances ("nearest
neighbors") to predict language behavior. A more general theory of the
exemplar-based approach is Royal Skousen's analogical modeling of language,
which permits (under well-defined conditions) even non-neighbors to affect
language behavior.

Confirmed invited speakers:

Walter Daelemans
(Antwerp, Tilburg)
Comparing nearest neighbor approaches and AML

Bruce Derwing
(University of Alberta)
Experimental testing

Steve Chandler
(University of Idaho)
Psycholinguistic evidence

David Eddington
(Mississippi State)
Applying AML to Spanish morphology

Doug Wulf
(University of Washington)
Applying AML to German plurals


Submission information for papers to be presented at conference:

      Detailed abstract (approximately 1000 words) due 1 December 1999
      Submit by email to aml-conf at byu.edu (plain ASCII, PDF or Postscript
only)
      or by regular mail to:

      Royal Skousen
      Department of English
      Brigham Young University
      Provo, Utah 84602
      USA

      Preliminary draft of full paper due at time of conference
      Publication plans: major academic publisher, negotiations underway

In addition to the public conference on 23-24 March 2000, there will be:

      Tutorial sessions on AML on Wednesday, 22 March 2000:

            overview of AML
            developing datasets
            running the AML software
            using other instance-based approaches

      Expert sessions in research on Saturday, 25 March 2000

            groups applying AML to specific language problems


Local organizing committee for the conference:

Royal Skousen
Deryle Lonsdale
Dil Parkinson
Bill Eggington

with the assistance of other members of the AML research group at BYU:

Paul Baltes
Don Chapman
Dana Bourgerie
Kirk Belnap

For more details about the conference, as well as papers and the Perl
program that runs AML, see the AML website:
http://humanities.byu.edu/aml/homepage.html

For specific correspondence with the organizing committee, send e-mail to:
aml-conf at byu.edu or write to:

 Royal Skousen
 Department of English
 Brigham Young University
 Provo, Utah 84602
 USA

Possible support available from BYU's Kennedy Center for International
Studies for scholars from outside the U.S.

Anticipated costs:

Nominal conference fee: includes lunches on Thursday and Friday, plus
handout materials (abstracts)

Similar nominal fee for the tutorial sessions on Wednesday

Travel to Salt Lake City; shuttle services from airport to Provo (currently
about $40 for roundtrip) or car rental

Hotels and motels in Provo area:
            currently from $38 to $79 per day
            hotels include breakfast, plus shuttle to BYU

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End of Arabic-L: 28 Apr 1999