Linguistics Commons^™

Automatic Learning Of Document Section Structure For Ontology-Based Semantic Search, Deya Banisakher

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Modeling natural human behavior in understanding written language is crucial for developing true artificial intelligence. For people, words convey certain semantic concepts. While documents represent an abstract concept---they are collections of text organized in some logical structure, that is, sentences, paragraphs, sections, and so on. Similar to words, these document structures, are used to convey a logical flow of semantic concepts. Machines however, only view words as spans of characters and documents as mere collections of free-text, missing any underlying meanings behind words and the logical structure of those documents.

Automatic semantic concept detection is the process by which the …

A Lexicon-Grammar Analysis Of "Away" Expressions, Sydney G. La Valley

MA in Linguistics Final Projects

The goal of a Lexicon-Grammar is to systematically compose an exhaustive collection of particular linguistic structures to more accurately reveal patterns of language. Recent lexicon-grammar analyses such as “Transitive verbs with the particleout : a lexicon-grammar analysis” by Michelle Garcia-Vega (2011) and “Disambiguating phrasal verbs” by Dr. Peter Machonis (2008) respectively contain a plethora of entries for their particles. However, formal lexicon models would benefit from more in-depth exploration of away expressions. This research consists of collection, classification, and analysis of phrasal verbs with the particle away, following the lexicon-grammar model outlined by Maurice Gross in “The argument structure of …

Politics And Its Impact On Code-Switching In Puerto Rico, Juliette Marie Acosta-Santiago

MA in Linguistics Final Projects

Puerto Rico is considered a bilingual community for having English imposed to it as a result of the Spanish-American war. However, a notable difference between the perception of code-switching (a natural phenomenon after language contact) in Puerto Rico, and other bilingual communities such as Miami seems to take place. Research states that a considerable amount of Puerto Ricans have a negative perception against code-switching, while the limited research on code-switching in Miami states that Miami Cubans have a more positive perception towards code-switching. The purpose of this study is to shed light on the ways in which listeners perceive and …

Macarthur-Bates Communicative Developmental Inventories (Cdi): A Research Synthesis Evaluating Children At 2-36 Months,, Nicholas Giammarco

MA in Linguistics Final Projects

This synthesis will touch on the current parent-based assessments available while focusing specifically on the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Inventory English and Spanish versions. It will analyze studies that have used this test to predict language delays in infants from 2-36 months and look at its validity and effectiveness. It will use the PRISMA method to narrow search results. The PRISMA method is an evidence-based minimum set of items for reporting in systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Areas of concern were socioeconomic status, level of parent education, race, design, and effects of disability on CDI performance. 26 studies met the criteria to be …