Norman Fraser

Simulating speech systems

Abstract This paper reviews the “Wizard of Oz” technique for simulating future interactive technology and develops a partial taxonomy of such simulations. The issues of particular relevance to Wizard of Oz simulations of speech input/output computer systems are discussed and some experimental variables and confounding factors are reviewed. A general Wizard of Oz methodology is suggested.

Network morphology: A DATR account of Russian nominal inflection.

In this paper we introduce a declarative approach to inflectional morphology, which we call Network Morphology, using the lexical representation language DATR. We show that we can account for a range of (Russian) data, for which previously various rule types were required, and can provide a more satisfying analysis than was previously available. First we outline the essential data (section 2), highlighting the problems they present. Section 3 introduces the basic tenets of Network Morphology. This draws heavily on DATR, which we present in outline in section 4. Next we reconsider the Russian declensional classes from this new perspective (section 5). We show how the approach described overcomes long-standing problems in an elegant fashion; the complexity of the data suggests that the approach adopted has implications well beyond Russian. We then tackle the complex problem of animacy in Russian, which exemplifies interesting regularities extending across declensional classes (section 6).

Heads in grammatical theory

List of contributors 1. Introduction Norman M. Fraser, Greville G. Corbett and Scott McGlashan 2. The head of Russian numeral expressions Greville G. Corbett 3. The phonology of heads in Haruai Bernard Comrie 4. Patterns of headedness Ronnie Cann 5. Head-hunting on the trail of the nominal Janus Andrew Radford 6. The headedness of noun-phrases: slaying the nominal hydra John Payne 7. Head- versus dependent-marking: the case of the clause Nigel Vincent 8. Heads in discourse: structural versus functional centricity Johanna Nichols 9. Heads in head-driven phrase structure grammar Robert D. Borsley 10. Heads and lexical semantics Scott McGlashan 11. Heads, parsing and word-order universals John A. Hawkins 12. Do we have heads in our minds? Richard A. Hudson 13. Heads, bases and functors Arnold M. Zwicky References Index.

Gender, Animacy, and Declensional Class Assignment: A Unified Account for Russian

In an earlier paper we introduced Network Morphology, an approach to inflectional morphology which relies heavily on the notion of default inheritance (Corbett & Fraser 1993), and showed how a complex set of data pertaining to the inflectional morphology of Russian nominals could be handled in this framework. We extend that analysis here to include a range of phenomena which, we believe, has not previously been described in a single formally explicit framework. The key concept underlying our analysis is that of default inheritance. We introduce this below, together with a lexical knowledge representation language called DATR, which we use to make our analysis fully explicit.2 In Section 3 we describe our approach to gender assignment in Russian; animacy assignment is dealt with in Section 4; and declensional class assignment in Section 5.

Dialogue Management for Telephone Information Systems

A distributed approach to spoken dialogue management for real-time telephone information systems is outlined.

Defaults in Arapesh

Abstract Network Morphology is a formally explicit approach to morphology which distributes information across a network in which generalizations can be optimally expressed. Generalizations become available in specific cases by the operation of default inheritance. In this paper we explore the notion of ‘default’ in morphology by means of a Network Morphology analysis of the noun classes and genders of Arapesh — a language which relies on a sophisticated understanding of defaults for a satisfactory treatment (Aronoff, 1992). Our work lends support to Aronoffs account of the Arapesh data. It also reveals a confusion in use of the term ‘default’ by linguists. In one usage of the term, the (‘normal case’) default is that which applies in the absence of blocking information; in the other, the (‘exceptional case’) default is that which applies when some exceptional factors prevent normal processes from applying and necessitate the adoption of some ‘last resort’ solution. Under one reading the default equates with the unmarked case; in the other, it is the marked case which is picked out by the same term.

Organising computer talk

Publisher Summary In the advice system the choice of possible next turns available to the user and to the system is controlled by a set of rules based on conversation analysis (CA). The advice system uses a conventional mouse, screen and keyboard interface. The findings of CA about human-human interaction would seem to be even more likely to be able to make a contribution to the design of voice-mediated human-computer dialogues, where the user speaks to the machine and the machines responses are generated using a speech synthesizer. Despite these opportunities, there has been some skepticism about applying CA findings to the design of computer systems and of developing computational models of conversational phenomena. This chapter explores whether this skepticism is wholly justified. One advantage of the computational approach, both to linguistics and to understanding conversation, is that it forces the analyst to be clear and precise about what is being proposed. It provides a way to conceptualize and explore the consequences of the fact that conversation is the outcome of two or more independent, goal-directed individuals. The chapter describes a current speech system project, the ESPIRIT II Sundial project that aims to draw on some of the interactional strategies revealed by CA. It also discusses shortcomings of this model to see whether the problems are as such to invalidate the enterprise or are merely difficulties that can be overcome by a more sophisticated model. The aim of the Sundial project is to develop a computer system which is capable of conversing with members of the public over the telephone to answer simple queries, such as the time of arrival of a particular airline flight or the times of trains.

Sublanguage, register and natural language interfaces

Abstract The paper is a commentary on Karlgren (1993) which proposed the term ‘register’ as a substitute for the term ‘sublanguage’ in relation to the study of natural language interfaces. The author proposes that this substitution is inappropriate for several reasons. First, the term ‘sublanguage’ has many meanings and cannot be restricted to the mathematical definition as Karlgren proposes. Second, terms in natural language will always be loosely defined because that is their intrinsic nature. Third, register is not a well-defined sociolinguistic term as Karlgren suggests. Finally the author offers an alternative description of what a natural language ‘sublanguage’ is.

Call routing by name recognition: field trial results for the Operetta/sup TM/ system

The mechanical and repetitive part of a telephone receptionists job is an obvious target for automation. Indeed, this is precisely the problem which is addressed by existing auto-attendant systems. However, these approach automation by forcing callers to modify their behaviour to suit the limitations of the technology. We describe a speech recognition-based system called Operetta/sup TM/ which achieves high levels of automation in routing incoming calls, without compromising the simplicity and user friendliness of call handling. Operetta breaks new ground by offering the capability to process up to eight simultaneous calls using low cost technology, and by providing system administration tools which allow the system to be set up and maintained without any specialist knowledge of speech technology. Evidence collected in the field demonstrates that the majority of callers behave in a fashion which can be managed by Operetta.

The Emergence of an International New Software Venture from an Emerging Economy

This study is positioned at the intersection of legitimation and international entrepreneurship theories. It is a longitudinal ethnographic case study that explores the process of emergence of an international new software venture from an emerging economy and the effect this venture has on the process of industry creation in that economy. Data were collected over a two year period, 2010-2011, via in-depth interviews, observations, and unobtrusive data. Data analysis reveals three different contexts in which legitimation took place: legitimation of the new venture domestically and internationally, and legitimation of the new industry. To acquire cognitive legitimacy and socio-political legitimacy and successfully internationalize, an international new venture needs to design a robust business model targeting both internal and external stakeholders, engage in persuasive argumentation invoking familiar cues and scripts, promote and defend incentives and operating mechanisms in political negotiations, and overcome the country-of-origin effect by pursuing a technology legitimation strategy.