Natural Language - Definition and Examples

Natural Language s A natural language is a human language, such as English or Standard Mandarin, as opposed to a  constructed language, an artificial language, a machine language, or the language of formal logic. Also called  ordinary language. The theory of universal grammar proposes that all natural languages have certain underlying rules that shape and limit the structure of the specific grammar for any given language.Natural language processing (also known as computational linguistics) is the scientific study of language from a computational perspective, with a focus on the interactions between natural (human) languages and computers. Observations The term natural language is used in opposition to the terms formal language and artificial language, but the important difference is that natural languages are not actually constructed as artificial languages and they do not actually appear as formal languages. But they are considered and studied as though they were formal languages in principle. Behind the complex and the seemingly chaotic surface of natural languages there areaccording to this way of thinkingrules and principles that determine their constitution and functions. . . .(Sà ¶ren Stenlund, Language and Philosophical Problems. Routledge, 1990)Essential Concepts- All languages are systematic. They are governed by a set of interrelated systems that include phonology, graphics (usually), morphology, syntax, lexicon, and semantics.- All natural languages are conventional and arbitrary. They obey rules, such as assigning a particular word to a particular thing or concept. But there is no reason that this particular word was originally assigned to this particular thing or concept.- All natural languages are redundant, meaning that the information in a sentence is signaled in more than one way.- All natural languages change. There are various ways a language can change and various reasons for this change.(C. M. Millward and Mary Hayes, A Biography of the English Language, 3rd ed. Wadsworth, 2011) Creativity and EfficiencyThe apparent fact that the number of utterances in  a natural language is  unbounded is one of its more widely remarked upon properties and a core tenet of modern linguistic theory. The classic argument for creativity uses the idea that one can continually add further adjuncts to sentences to establish that there can be no longest sentence and therefore no finite number of sentences (see Chomsky, 1957). . . .This conventional argument for the creativity of natural language is overly strained: who has actually heard a 500-word sentence? In contrast, anyone who studies [natural language] generation has available a far more reasonable and commonsense account of creativity, namely that one continually uses new utterances because one is continually faced with new situations . . .. The counterbalance to creativity is the efficiency of language (Barwise Perry, 1983): the fact that many utterances do reoccur countless times (e.g., Where did you go for dinner las t night?).(David D. McDonald, et al., Factors Contributing to Efficiency in Natural Language Generation.  Natural Language Generation, ed. by  Gerard Kempen. Kluwer, 1987) Natural ImprecisionNatural language is the embodiment of human cognition and human intelligence. It is very evident that natural language includes an abundance of vague and indefinite phrases and statements that correspond to imprecision in the underlying cognitive concepts. Terms such as tall, short, hot, and well are extremely difficult to translate into knowledge representation, as required for the reasoning systems under discussion. Without such precision, symbolic manipulation within the computer is bleak, to say the least. However, without the richness of meaning inherent in such phrases, human communication would be severely limited, and it is therefore incumbent on us (to attempt) to include such facility within reasoning systems . . ..(Jay Friedenberg and Gordon Silverman, Cognitive Science: An Introduction to the Study of Mind. SAGE, 2006) See also CommunicationWhat Is Language?

6 Tips to Liven Up Your Lectures

6 Tips to Liven Up Your Lectures Many graduate students find themselves at the head of the classroom, first as teaching assistants and later as instructors. However, graduate study often doesn’t teach students how to teach, and not all grad student instructors first serve as TAs. Instead, most graduate students find themselves instructing a college class with little to no teaching experience. When faced with the challenge of teaching despite little experience, most grad students turn to the techniques they have experienced as students. The lecture method is a common teaching tool. A poor lecture is painful for both students and the instructor. Lecturing is a traditional method of instruction, perhaps the oldest form of instruction. It has its detractors who argue that it is a passive means of education. However, the lecture is not always passive. A good lecture is not simply a list of facts or a reading of the textbook. An effective lecture is the result of planning and making a series of choices - and it need not be boring. 1.  Dont Cover It All Exert restraint in planning each class session. You will not be able to cover all of the material in the text and assigned readings. Accept that. Base your lecture on the most important material in the reading assignment, a topic from the reading that students are likely to find difficult, or material that doesnt appear in the text. Explain to students that you wont repeat much of the material in the assigned readings, and their job is to read carefully and critically, identifying and bringing questions about the readings to class. 2.  Make Choices Your lecture should present no more than three or four major issues, with time for examples and questions. Anything more than a few points and your students will be overwhelmed. Determine the critical message of your lecture and then remove the adornments. Present the bare bones in a succinct story. Students will absorb the salient points easily if they are few in number, clear, and coupled with examples. 3.  Present in Small Chunks Break up your lectures so that they are presented in 20-minute chunks. Whats wrong with a 1- or 2-hour lecture? Research shows that students remember the first and the last ten minutes of lectures, but little of the intervening time. Undergraduate students have a limited attention span - so take advantage of it to structure your class. Switch gears after each 20-minute mini-lecture and do something different. For example, pose a discussion question, a short in-class writing assignment, a small group discussion, or problem-solving activity. 4.  Encourage Active Processing Learning is a constructive process. Students must think about the material, make connections, relate new knowledge to what is already known, and apply knowledge to new situations. Only by working with information do we learn it. Effective instructors use active learning techniques in the classroom. Active learning is a student-centered instruction that forces students to manipulate the material to solve problems, answer questions, examine cases, discuss, explain, debate, brainstorm, and formulate questions of their own. Students tend to prefer active learning techniques because they are engaging and fun. 5.  Pose Reflective Questions The simplest way of using active learning techniques in the classroom is to ask reflective questions. These are not yes or no questions, but those that require students to think. For example, â€Å"What would you do in this particular situation? How would you approach solving this problem?† Reflective questions are difficult and will require time to think, so be prepared to wait for an answer. Endure the silence. 6.  Get Them Writing Rather than simply pose a discussion question, ask students to write about the question first for three to five minutes, then solicit their responses. The benefit of asking students to consider the question in writing is that they will have time to think through their response and feel more comfortable discussing their views without fear of forgetting their point. Asking students to work with the course content and determine how it fits with their experiences enables them to learn in their own way, making the material personally meaningful, which is at the heart of active learning. In addition to the educational  benefits, breaking up a lecture and interspersing it with discussion and active learning takes the pressure off of you as the instructor. An hour and 15 minutes, or even 50 minutes, is a long time to talk. Its also a long time to listen.  Try these techniques and vary your strategies to make it easier on everyone and increase your likelihood of success in the classroom.

Lost in Translation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Lost in Translation - Essay Example Even though globalization has enabled many individuals to have a culture that they can lean back on as depicted in "Globalization" by Maria Jerskey, there are thousands and thousands of individuals who are caught in between foreign cultures or are surrounded by languages that they can neither comprehend nor understand. Therefore, despite the fact that globalization has brought communities together as shown in "Globalization" by Maria Jerskey, it has also brought identity, cultural, language, and ethical challenges as depicted in  "Lost in Translation" Eva Hoffman. The term identity simply refers to who a person is. This term is however paradoxical in the sense that it can be used to refer to ‘sameness’ (what individuals from different groups have in common) and ‘uniqueness’ (the inimitable and distinct traits of individuals). Identity in Lost in Translation can be taken as being central. The problems faced by Hoffman are much more than merely linguistic ones (Ueda para. 2) since define her identity and self-definition. Globalization has enabled the relationship between an individual’s innate identity, enacted identity and language. In â€Å"Lost in Translation,† Hoffman loses the concept of her individuality through her inability to express herself in a new environment. For instance, she says that she becoming a very serious and stern person thereby ignoring the wit and irony available around her even though the irony is all around her. Although globalization has enabled Eva to interact with individuals from a new culture, it has created an identity challenge. Eva argues that she lives in a society whereby nobody gives her identity and therefore on has to re-invent herself each day (Hoffman160). Furthermore, Hoffman identifies that the frame of culture in America is stronger and thus it holds the individual personality more firmly as compared to her home country. This too confirms the complex relationship between

Jominy Hardenability test Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Jominy Hardenability test - Lab Report Example During testing, water was sprayed on one side of the steel bar when still hot so as to enhance a one-dimensional transfer of heat during cooling. Moving away from the end that was quenched made the temperature rate of change to be altered. The rate of cooling is observed being low as the temperature increases. When the hardness of the surface is measured as a distance function from the end, a profile of hardness was obtained. This profile can be applied to any specimen that is made from steel (Callister 4). Hardenability is, therefore different from hardness as hardness refers to a measure of the extent of resistance for a solid matter towards different types of permanent shapes whenever some amount of force is applied to the solid matter. The macroscopic hardness is hardness with intermolecular bonds that are strong. It occurs whenever the character of the solid matter under force appears to be complex. In this respect, there are a variety hardness measurements. These include indent ation hardness, scratch hardness, and rebound hardness (Bain 3).Comparing the experimental and published hardenability values, it is evidenced that the two pairs of curves are similar to each other. The curves have a similar gradient with just a few differences. These differences were brought about due to experimental errors. Some of the experimental errors came about due to air resistance, parallax, the heterogeneous trait of the calibration plate, faultiness of the Rockwell scale, and wrong calculation.... As widely cited, Hardenability is measured using the measurements of length. It serves the purpose of indicating how deep inside a material of given hardness can be obtained. This is one such vital property in welding and it is inversely proportional to the weldability of a material. This property can be demonstrated in a case where whenever a work piece that is made of steel is quenched; the contact area having water is suddenly cooled and it is often evened out of the given medium. On the contrary, the internal depth of the medium, fails to cool in a rapid in a rapid way and the work pieces inside, cool at a slow rate allowing the austenite to change into a structure besides martensite. The main effect is that the resulting component would be a work piece with different crystal structures, having a hard shell and a core considered being soft and hard for the entire structure. In this case, the softer core is a combination of cementite and ferrite such as the pearlite. In ferrous al loys such as steel, hardenability is a component of the carbon content and other different elements of the alloy. The other alloying elements have relatively important including the calculation using the equivalent material’s carbon content. In quenching, the fluid used facilitates the rate of cooling for the materials as a result of the changing thermal conductivity and specific heat. Components such as water and brine that have the ability to cool faster than oil and air (Callister 9). Apart from this, whenever a fluids are agitated, their rate of cooling is fast. In other cases, the part geometry influences the rate of cooling rate for two samples having different volumes. This means that the material

The rise of Single Parenthood in Contemporary Britain Essay Example for Free

The rise of Single Parenthood in Contemporary Britain Essay Sociology has given us insights into our understanding of the rise in single parenthood in Contemporary Britain. Single-parent families have become increasingly common in Britain. According to government statistics, in 1961, 2 per cent of the population lived in households consisting of a lone parent with dependent children, but by 1998 this had more than tripled to 7 per cent.  According to Hantrais and Letablier (1996), Britain has the second highest rate of lone parenthood in Europe, and is exceeded only by Denmark, and rates in countries such as France, Greece and Portugal are much lower than those of Britain are. Children may start their life living in a single-parent family. However, the single parent may well find a new partner and marry them or cohabit with them. The child will then end up living with two parents.  It should also be noted that many children who live in a single-parent household do see and spend time with their other parent. Further more even in two-parent families, one parent (usually the mother) might be responsible for the vast majority of the childcare. There are many reasons why lone parenthood can come about. People who are married can become lone parents by divorce, separation or death of a spouse. Lone parents who have never been married may have been living with the parent of the child when the child was born, but they subsequently stopped living together. They may not have been living with the parent of the child when they were born. Official statistics give some indication of the frequency of the different paths to lone-parenthood, but do not provide a complete picture. Official figures for Britain shows that the largest proportion of female lone parents in 1995-7 were single, with about a third being divorced and just under a quarter separated. The figures for those who were single do not differentiate between those who were cohabiting when the child was conceived and those who were not. These proportions have changed over time. Clearly the rise in lone motherhood is closely related to increases in the divorce rate and tot he increase in births outside marriage. The increase in single lone mothers may partly result from a reduction in the number of shotgun weddings. Marriages that resulted from pregnancy were often unstable and could end up in producing lone motherhood through an eventual divorce or separation. Now, the partners may chose to cohabit rather than marry and, if their relationship breaks up, they end up appearing in the statistics as a single, never married, parent. The absence of cohabitation does not necessarily imply that the parents do not have a close relationship some writers see the rise of single parenthood as a symptom of increased tolerance of diverse family forms.  There are a number of reasons for supposing that the welfare state is not responsible for the increases. Some commentators dont believe that lone parenthood gives advantages to those seeking local authority housing. In 1993 John Perry, policy director of the Institute of Housing, said Ive not been able to find a single housing authority which discriminates in favour of single parents over couples with children. The homeless get priority, but there is no suggestion that a homeless single parent gets priority over a homeless couple. Single parents who are reliant upon benefits tend to live in poor housing conditions and to have low standards of living. There is little material incentive to become a single parent. There is evidence that a large majority of single parents do not wish to be reliant on state benefits. They would prefer to work for a living but find it impractical to do so. Single parenthood has increasingly become a contentious issue, with some arguing that it has become a serious problem for society.  A vast majority of the population would still agree, I think, that the normal family is an influence for good in society and that one-parent families are bad news. Since not many single parents can both earn a living and give children the love and care they need, society has to support them; the children suffer through lacking of one parent While most commentators agree that single parenthood can create problems for individual parents, many sociologists do not see it a s a social problem, and some see that it is a sign of social progress.  Some view the mother only family as an indicator of social disorganisation, signalling the demise of the family. Others regard it as an alternative family form consistent with the emerging economic independence of women. More controversial that the low average living standard of lone parents is the question of the psychological and social effects on children raised in such families. Findings of a number of American studies, which seem to indicate that children are harmed by single parenthood. These studies have claimed that such children have lower earnings and experience more poverty as adults; children of mother-only families are more likely to become lone parents themselves; and they are more likely to become delinquent and engaged in drug abuse. The findings of such studies must be treated with caution. In a review of research in lone parenthood, Louise Burghess notes that some research in the relationship between educational attainment and divorce suggests that children in families where the parents divorce start to do more poorly in education before the divorce takes place.  David Morgan does believe that the evidence suggests that the children of single parents fare less well than those from two-parent households. He qualifies this by saying that we still do not know enough about what causes these differences; as with the effects of financial hardship, the children would be affected by the stigma attached to coming from a single-parent family.  It is very difficult to disentangle the direct and indirect effects on children of being brought up in a single-parent household and therefore dangerous to make generalisations about such effects.

The Healing Power of Reiki Essay -- Religion, Spirituality

Reiki is a Japan based healing secret that is rapidly recognized worldwide. In early 1900s, Mikao Usui discovered the surreptitious of reiki while he was isolating himself at Mount Kurama in Japan. Afterwards, the healing art of reiki has been scattered over the world as the reiki practitioners are escalating abruptly. In fact, numerous cultures all over the world believe that there are concealed energy flows through all creatures that are connected to the quality of life ever since ancient times. Reiki utilizes specific technique for rejuvenating and balancing the natural life force energy within the body. Reiki symbols have specific frequency that specialize certain condition to sanction the flow of energy throughout the body. The colour and shape of each symbol signify the frequency and amplitude of the energy. The healing power of reiki can be verified by the existence of first degree of reiki and second degree of reiki as well as enhancing the results of medical therapy. In the beginning, the Reiki practitioner must learn and master the first degree of Reiki or the first stage of Reiki. First degree of Reiki enables poise energy for healing one’s self, others, plants and animal. According to Jentoft (2000), first degree Reiki is activated by the intention that is you intend or spiritually command it to run. This has become feasible after the practitioner receives reiju also known as denju or instigation. In other words, reiju is the part where the practitioner is assisted to the Reiki energy. The practitioner will be taught various hand positions and methods for administering Reiki on the self and others. These hand positions and methods are crucial in order for the practitioners to heal themselves and others. Barrett (n.d... ...energy. We hope this kind of medication will develope more and be well-known to others as a trusted kind of therapy to heal and augment our physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual components. Works Cited Barrett, S.(n.d). Reiki Is Nonsense. Retrieved 2011, December 8 from http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/reiki.html. Cougar, P.(n.d). The Usui System of natural healing. Retrieved 2011, December 8 from http://www.dpierce.com/pat/. Herron, D.(n.d). The Reiki Attunement process. Retrieved 2011, December 8 from http://reiki.7gen.com. International Center for Reiki Training Web site, (n.d). Experiencing Reiki. Retrieved 2011, December 8 from http://www.reiki.org/. Jentoft, P.L.(2000). Usui Reiki contemporary and traditional methods level one manual. Retrieved 2011, December 8 from http://pjentoft.com/Reikione-manual.html.

A Day of Many Events

The day I was born, April 28, 1982 was a day of love, business and learning. While the (insert surname) family is happily waiting for the love child of (name of your parents), series of events was also happening. It was a day filled with many activities and a day of expectations. In Federal Agencies, reports were made from the Education Week about the public hearings on bilingual education. This happened on the day I was born, April 28, 1982, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., in the El Fauno Room of the Condado Beach Hotel, San Juan, Puerto Rico (Education Week). Meanwhile, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration released reports involving the astronauts Robert L. Gibson and Rhea Seddon about the good news of expecting the birth of their first child. It was indeed a much anticipated moment for the couple to have a baby of their own (Lawrence). World Bank History also made one historical event on the day I was born. The IFC (International Finance Corp.) and IDA (International Development Association) Articles of Agreement were signed by Saint Lucia, a Caribbean island nation. The small country became IFC’s 122nd member and IDA’s 130th member. It was a huge leap towards developing funds for the world (World Bank). Clearly, on the day when my mother gave birth to me, there were many events that occurred in history. It was a day of hope for the education system when public hearings were conducted for the proposed Bilingual Education System. It was also a day of happiness and expectation for an astronaut couple. It was also an important day in the history of World Bank, when Saint Lucia joined IFC and IDA. Meanwhile, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, my parents were happily expecting a special gift—they were excited to see one bouncing baby who will add happiness to our family. Indeed, April 28, 1982 was a day of hope, excitement, and fulfillment for my family and for the world. Works Cited Name of your mother, Personal Interview. 2 April 2008. â€Å"This Week in World Bank History: April 28 – May 4† 2008.† The World Bank Archives. Worldbank. April 2008    â€Å"In Federal Agencies.† Education Week. Edweek. 28 April 1982. 5 April 2008   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Lawrence, John. â€Å"Expectant Astronauts.† 1981-1983 NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) News. NASA. 28 April 1982. 5 April 2008   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚