13.0371 linguistics: jobs, dialectical play

From: Humanist Discussion Group (willard@lists.village.virginia.edu)
Date: Wed Feb 02 2000 - 08:18:34 CUT

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                   Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 13, No. 371.
           Centre for Computing in the Humanities, King's College London
                   <http://www.princeton.edu/~mccarty/humanist/>
                  <http://www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/>

       [1] From: "Philip A. Bralich, Ph.D." <bralich@hawaii.edu> (43)
             Subject: Jobs for 1 Linguist and 2 ESL Curriculum

       [2] From: Willard McCarty <willard.mccarty@kcl.ac.uk> (48)
             Subject: dialect

    --[1]------------------------------------------------------------------
             Date: Wed, 02 Feb 2000 08:12:44 +0000
             From: "Philip A. Bralich, Ph.D." <bralich@hawaii.edu>
             Subject: Jobs for 1 Linguist and 2 ESL Curriculum

    Ergo Linguistic Technologies currently has job openings for one linguist
    (full-time) and 2 full-time or 4 part-time (80 hours per week) ESL
    curriculum developers to work on Software and Internet ITS (Interactive
    Tutoring Systems) tools. To learn more about the company and the tools you
    will be working with go to http://www.ergo-ling.com. The Ergo working
    environment is comfortable and a little casual but it is working with state
    of the art NLP tools and software. Located at the Manoa Innovation center
    in Honolulu we are convenient to the University of Hawaii for those with
    on-going research interests. We also have a beautiful location as well as
    access to restaurants and shopping. We cannot pay a relocation allowance
    but the lifestyle in Hawaii is worth the effort to work here. Job
    descriptions follow:

    Linguist:
    Knowledge of Syntax and a knowledge of English Grammar required. Must also
    be proficient in standard software applications (Word Processors, Internet,
    Spread Sheets, etc.) Experience teaching ESL grammar classes a plus. Job
    will entail working with programmers and curriculum developers to improve
    lexicographical, syntactic, and standard grammar tools made from the Ergo
    parser. The main project is the development of interactive tutors which
    use a 3-D character to do interactive question and answer exchanges with
    users in the areas of ESL, Geography, and Biology. The use of in-house
    tools as well as standard software required. Temporary for now (six to
    twelve month project), perhaps long term.

    ESL Curriculum Developers:
    Experience teaching ESL and in Curriculum development. Must have a good
    eye for English grammar. The position entails designing and writing
    curriculum for Interactive tutors. Job will entail working with
    programmers and linguists to improve lexicographical, syntactic, and
    standard grammar tools made from the Ergo parser. The main project is the
    development of interactive tutors which use a 3-D character to do
    interactive question and answer exchanges with users in the area of ESL for
    a stand alone software product and for the Internet.

    Contact me by email or at the following numbers. Resumes may be sent by
    email, fax, or regular mail but all jobs start as soon as possible.

    Phil Bralich

    Philip A. Bralich, Ph.D.
    President and CEO
    Ergo Linguistic Technologies
    2800 Woodlawn Drive, Suite 175
    Honolulu, HI 96822

    Tel: (808)539-3920
    Fax: (808)539-3924
    bralich@hawaii.edu
    http://www.ergo-ling.com

    --[2]------------------------------------------------------------------
             Date: Wed, 02 Feb 2000 08:13:31 +0000
             From: Willard McCarty <willard.mccarty@kcl.ac.uk>
             Subject: dialect

    You may enjoy playing with Samuel Stoddard's The Dialectizer,
    <http://rinkworks.com/dialect/>, for the accidental/serendipitous
    misrenderings of certain words from (may I say without being shot?)
    STANDARD English into one of the dialects his page purports to produce.
    Alas the technology behind it is far too unsophisticated to render, say,
    the introductory blurb on Humanist's homepage into REAL Cockney -- though,
    admittedly, I cannot quite imagine getting any of my Cockney neighbours to
    render that blurb out loud. The statement is as follows:

    >Humanist is an international electronic seminar on the application of
    >computers to the humanities. Its primary aim is to provide a forum for
    >discussion of intellectual, scholarly, pedagogical, and social issues and
    >for exchange of information among members. Humanist is allied with the
    >Association for Computers and the Humanities and the Association for
    >Literary and Linguistic Computing. It is an affiliated publication of the
    >American Council of Learned Societies and a publication of the Office for
    >Humanities Communication (U.K.).

    The Dialectizer renders it thus:

    >Humanist is an international electronic seminar on the chuffin'
    >application of French Tutors ter the chuffin' humanities. Its primary aim
    >is ter provide a forum for chat of intellectual, right, scholarly,
    >pedagogical, and social issues and for exchange of information among
    >members. Humanist is allied wiv the Association for French Tutors and the
    >Humanities and the Association for Literary and Linguistic Computin'. It
    >is an affiliated publication of the a septic tank Council of Learned
    >Societies and a publication of the Office for Humanities Communication
    (U.K.).

    Curiously, our auto-Cockney is particularly chuffed about what we do (dial.
    f. "chuff", "pleased, satisfied, happy") and thinks we're right. Well,
    then.... Quite how the machines we use became French Tutors I am not sure,
    but perhaps if you are one (a French tutor, that is) you should start
    getting worried. The real hoot is, of course, what has happened to our many
    "American" friends, but not only those honoured colleagues in the ACLS -- I
    tried the adjective on its own, and guess what? The Dialectizer apparently
    has one and only one opinion of my native land. No other dialect in The
    Dialectizer does that. I must say that my experience of Cockney speakers
    and other East Enders is that they have rather the opposite opinion of
    America -- streets paved with gold and all that. (I have numerous times
    been asked by my genuinely puzzled neighbours, "Why did you move from a
    place like that to a place like THIS????" I recall one particularly
    memorable occasion, sitting in a moldy shoe shop in Brick Lane, charmed to
    the gills by the delightfully reticent attitude of the owner, whom I had to
    persuade to sell me a pair of very nice shoes. Now there's a high mark for
    an AI-powered dialectizer to aim for.)

    Yours,
    WM

    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
    Dr. Willard McCarty, Senior Lecturer, King's College London
    voice: +44 (0)171 848 2784 fax: +44 (0)171 848 5081
    <Willard.McCarty@kcl.ac.uk> <http://ilex.cc.kcl.ac.uk/wlm/>
    maui gratia



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