C. H. J. van der Merwe

Calculation of LPC-based cepstrum coefficients using mel-scale frequency warping

This paper describes a method for warping the frequency axis of cepstrum coefficients in a way analogous to the preprocessing performed by the human ear. The equations are derived and historical background relating to different warping scales is discussed. The calculation is a two-step procedure in which the bilinear transform is used to represent the LPC coefficients on a warped frequency scale. A warping constant determines the degree of transformation. This results in an ARMA representation of the filter transfer function. The second step determines recursively the cepstrum coefficients corresponding to this ARMA transfer function. >This paper describes a method for warping the frequency axis of cepstrum coefficients in a way analogous to the preprocessing performed by the human ear. The equations are derived and historical background relating to different warping scales is discussed. The calculation is a two-step procedure in which the bilinear transform is used to represent the LPC coefficients on a warped frequency scale. A warping constant determines the degree of transformation. This results in an ARMA representation of the filter transfer function. The second step determines recursively the cepstrum coefficients corresponding to this ARMA transfer function.<<ETX>>

hinneh and Mirativity in Biblical Hebrew

This exhaustive study of hinneh modifies the findings of an earlier pilot study of the lexeme. Three major categories of use are distinguished, namely, 1) when hinneh within in a speech situation points out an entity, location, or event to an addressee; 2) when a narrator (and less often a speaker) uses hinneh to point to the cognitive effects of an observation or mental consideration upon another character (or, less often, upon the speaker him-/herself); and 3) when hinneh points to a proposition (or propositions) which need(s) to be related to another proposition (or propositions) or speech act(s). In each of the three categories hinneh has a deictic function, which could be regarded as its semantic core. However, since in about two-thirds of the occurrences in the corpus, it is unambiguously clear that hinneh is used to point to something for which either addressees or characters were not prepared, it is postulated the most typical and central use of hinneh is to mark mirativity. However, some secondary shifts away from this core mirative sense have been identified in the corpus. Each of the shifts is to be accounted for in a principled manner.

Some Recent Trends in Biblical Hebrew Linguistics: A Few Pointers Towards a More Comprehensive Model of Language Use

Despite a slow start. one of the major trends in current Biblical Hebrew research is the use of structurulist-oriented approaches to identify and describe linguistic phenomena in terms of their distributional patterns. Designing more effective tools to cany out this type of research electronically leads to a situation where both the benefits and boundaries of structurulist approachcs are starting to show. There is a growing need for more adequate theoretical frames of reference to interpret and complement the taxonomies of distributional patterns. In light of developments in the fields of pmgmatics. cognitive linguistics. and sociolinguistics. some pointers are formulated that may assist scholars in their quest for a more comprehensive model of language and language use. It is believed that such a model. on thc one hand. will help Biblical Hebrew scholars in defining more adequate heuristic tools for the investigation of specific problems. and. on the other hand. may serve itself as an integrating franle of reference for the interpretation of research results of various problems.

Alignment of speech with a phonetic representation using continuous density hidden Markov models

Sentence models are constructed from 7-state hidden Markov models utilising tied transitions within the Markov model and tied states within the sentence model. The HMMs generate output on state-to-state transition. The training is performed using unmarked sections of speech of which only the phonetic content is known. This paper also gives the formulae used for the training including the tied transition and null transition instances, as derived by the authors from the Baum re-estimation training algorithm. Scaling of probabilities is also discussed.<<ETX>>Sentence models are constructed from 7-state hidden Markov models utilising tied transitions within the Markov model and tied states within the sentence model. The HMMs generate output on state-to-state transition. The training is performed using unmarked sections of speech of which only the phonetic content is known. This paper also gives the formulae used for the training including the tied transition and null transition instances, as derived by the authors from the Baum re-estimation training algorithm. Scaling of probabilities is also discussed. >

Calculation aspects of the European rebalanced basket option using Monte Carlo methods : valuation

Life insurance and pension funds offer a wide range of products that are invested in a mix of assets. These portfolios (Π), underlying the products, are rebalanced back to predetermined fixed proportions on a regular basis. This is done by selling the better performing assets and buying the worse performing assets. Life insurance or pension fund contracts can offer the client a minimum payout guarantee on the contract by charging them an extra premium (α). This problem can be changed to that of the pricing of a put option with underlying Π. It forms a liability for the insurance firm, and therefore needs to be managed in terms of risks as well. This can be done by studying the option’s sensitivities. In this thesis the premium and sensitivities of this put option are calculated, using different Monte Carlo methods, in order to find the most efficient method. Using general Monte Carlo methods, a simplistic pricing method is found which is refined by applying mathematical techniques so that the computational time is reduced significantly. After considering Antithetic Variables, Control Variates and Latin Hypercube Sampling as variance reduction techniques, option prices as Control Variates prove to reduce the error of the refined method most efficiently. This is improved by considering different Quasi-Monte Carlo techniques, namely Halton, Faure, normal Sobol’ and other randomised Sobol’ sequences. Owen and Faure-Tezuke type randomised Sobol’ sequences improved the convergence of the estimator the most efficiently. Furthermore, the best methods between Pathwise Derivatives Estimates and Finite Difference Approximations for estimating sensitivities of this option are found. Therefore by using the refined pricing method with option prices as Control Variates together with Owen and Faure-Tezuke type randomised Sobol’ sequences as a Quasi-Monte Carlo method, more efficient methods to price this option (compared to simplistic Monte Carlo methods) are obtained. In addition, more efficient sensitivity estimators are obtained to help manage risks.

'n Akademiese beoordeling van 'n vertaling van die Bybel in Afrikaans

An academic evaluation of a translation of the Bible in AfrikaansIn the past the authority of Bible translations was often evaluated in terms oftheir equivalence to source texts. Development in translation theory has revealed,however, that the functionalist approach provides a more justified way of evaluatingtranslations. According to this approach the extent to which a translation fulfilsits purpose in a target culture should be the primary criterion for evaluation. Toensure that documentary translations do not jeopardize their authority by movingtoo far from the source texts Nord postulated the term “loyalty” – the loyalty thattranslators owe source-text authors as well as commissioning bodies. The aim ofthis study is to provide part of the theoretical framework in terms of which Bibletranslations can be evaluated by non-specialists. As practical illustration of thisprocedure we examined the translation of the Hebrew particle wehinneh in parts ofthe Nuwe Lewende Vertaling (2006) in order to ascertain whether its claims wereadhered to.

A Cognitive Linguistic Perspective on הִנֵּה in The Pentateuch, Joshua, Judges, and Ruth

In a recent study, the haphazard way in which h́...nIh is interpreted and translated has been amply illustrated. This state of affairs is considered to be symptomatic of the lack of a holistic and comprehensive description of the particle. The primary aim of this investigation is to construct a model that could be used to motivate all uses of h́...nIh in terms of extensions from a physical gesture to concrete entities to “less concrete” uses—with some conventionalized uses associated with specific constructions. For these purposes, current descriptions of h́...nIh are reviewed in terms of some basic insights of cognitive linguistics. The perspectives gained are then used as points of departure for constructing a model for describing instances of the particles that occur in a specific corpus of predominantly narrative texts. In the process, the following picture emerged: h́...nIh is indeed a deictic particle. Its most generic function is to point to an entity or entities x in the immediate proximity of an observing entity or entities y. The entities x can be persons or thing. The entities, however, may also be an action, event(s), or state(s) of affairs, or the propositional content of one or more clauses. The proximity involved with concrete entities (i.e., persons and things) is typically proximity in space. With actions, events, and state of affairs proximity in time (hence the frequent use of the participle) is involved. In the case of propositional context mental proximity is involved.

The Elusive Biblical Hebrew Term ויהי: A Perspective in Terms of its Syntax, Semantics, and Pragmatics in 1 Samuel

Although recent descriptions of ויהי have identified a number of plausible functions that this construction may fulfill, they seldom provide clearly defined criteria for interpreting specific occurrences. This paper illustrates that, if one systematically takes (1) the syntactic distribution of ויהי, (2) the semantic features of the clauses or phrases following ויהי, (3) recent advances in the description of the temporal relationships that are engaged in narratives, and (4) the position of ויה plus phrase or clause in a scene or episode, formulating such criteria is indeed possible.

Old Hebrew Particles and the Interpretation of Old Testament Texts

Particles comprise all those lexemes that are not verbals or nominals. To distinguish between classes of particles one often has to resort to semantic criteria, and scholars differ as to the type and number of particles that have to be distinguished. Because they may indicate pragmatic relationships and relationships between texts, they are treated fully neither in grammars nor in lexicons. It therefore often happens that exegetes and translators do not clearly understand the functions of particles. In the process they are left untranslated, are translated wrongly or are assigned the meaning ’emphasis’. In this article an attempt is made to utilize insights of general linguistic research to illustrate the types of particles that may be distinguished and the types of relationships that they may display. The significance of these pragmatic and textual grammatical relationships is then illustrated by means of the biblical Hebrew particles , , , and .