{"71074":{"#nid":"71074","#data":{"type":"event","title":"On Generative Capacity of Natural Language: Human and Non-Human","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EInvited Talk by Dr. Sandiway Fong\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E*Please Note: This talk will be delivered via Skype\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbstract:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp; There has been recent interest on distinguishing the generative capacity required for human language versus language for other animals. There has been a long history of discourse on the generative capacity of human language. For example, results involving center-embedding phenomena and cross-serial dependencies point to the fact that human language is intrinsically non-finite state and non-context-free, respectively. There has been further debate as to whether human language belongs to the class of mildly context-sensitive languages. However, given our inability to properly deconstruct utterance meanings for non-humans, there have been comparatively few results about the generative capacity of animal utterances. Nevertheless, there are observable constraints about the surface structure of non-human utterances. For example, birdsong has been analyzed as being of finite state capacity. In this talk, we will analyze the utterances of non-human primates from a formal language\u003Cbr \/\u003Eperspective. In particular, we will suggest that northern muriquis, also known as woolly spider monkeys, generate utterances that are non-context-free: in fact, beyond mildly context-sensitive in nature. (Joint work with Didier Demolin, GIPSA Lab, Grenoble, France).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESponsored by the School of Modern Languages, the Ivan Allen College Dean\u0027s Office, and the School of Interactive Computing\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EInvited talk by Dr. Sandiway Fong. \u003Cem\u003EOn Generative Capacity of Natural Language: Human and Non-Human\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPlease Note: This talk will be delivered via Skype\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Dr. Sandiway Fong presents \u0022On Generative Capacity of Natural Language: Human and Non-Human\u0022"}],"uid":"27385","created_gmt":"2011-10-10 18:37:32","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 01:56:19","author":"Carol Silvers","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2011-11-17T15:40:00-05:00","event_time_end":"2011-11-17T16:40:00-05:00","event_time_end_last":"2011-11-17T16:40:00-05:00","gmt_time_start":"2011-11-17 20:40:00","gmt_time_end":"2011-11-17 21:40:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2011-11-17 21:40:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.iac.gatech.edu\/files\/wysiwyg\/file\/PublicLecture2_Fong.pdf","title":"See Flyer"},{"url":"http:\/\/dingo.sbs.arizona.edu\/~sandiway\/","title":"Dr. Sandiway Fong"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.modlangs.gatech.edu\/languages\/linguistics","title":"School of Modern Languages"}],"groups":[{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"},{"id":"1284","name":"School of Modern Languages"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"14665","name":"Dr. Sandiway Fong"},{"id":"4123","name":"language"},{"id":"3643","name":"Modern Languages"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[{"id":"1788","name":"Other\/Miscellaneous"}],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EKyoko Masuda, Associate Professor of Japanese and Linguistics, School of Modern Languages\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:kyoko.masuda@modlangs.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ekyoko.masuda@modlangs.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}