Graduation Semester and Year

1986

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics

Department

Linguistics

First Advisor

Unknown

Abstract

This dissertation provides the theoretical basis for a computer program that adapts textual material from one language of the Tucanoan family to another. Tucanoan languages are spoken by small groups living in southeastern Colombia, northwestern Brazil, northern Peru, and northern Ecuador. This work represents the first attempt to apply principles of machine translation and computational linguistics to indigenous languages of Colombia. It discusses aspects of translation theory relevant to machine translation. Some features of the Tucanoan languages relevant to the adaptation process are discussed in depth, including differences in suffix systems marking case, noun classifiers, and the evidential systems of the various languages. Of particular interest for automated parsing is the problem of null allomorphs of certain morphemes.

Keywords

Applied sciences, Language, Literature and linguistics

Disciplines

Linguistics | Social and Behavioral Sciences

Comments

Degree granted by The University of Texas at Arlington

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