Yhe Ftzs4 nnuaf

Noz4h meztoan
Gompu4a4tonaf
Ltnguts4tos Ofmptad
Mazoh 9, 9OO7
PtYYSMNGM
OSYON tYMG
tNYENNEY
The Association for Computational Linguistics
North American Chapter
Organized by the
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Yhe Noz4h meztoan Gompu4a4tonaf Ltnguts4tos Ofmptad
www.namofo.ozg
March 29, 2007


{A} We are aII noIistic in a way

|maglne tbat you bave bearo tbese sentences:

[ane ls mollstlc ano slatty.
[ennlter ls cluvlous ano brastlc.
Molly ano Kyle are slatty but oanty.
Tbe teacber ls oanty ano cloovy.
Mary ls blltty but cloovy.
[eremlab ls not only slosbtul but also weasy.
Lven tbougb trumsy, [lm ls slosbtul.
Strungy ano strutty, Dlane was a pleasure to watcb.
Lven tbougb weasy, [obn ls strungy.
Carla ls blltty but strutty.
Tbe salespeople were cluvlous ano not slatty.

A1. Tben wblcb ot tbe tollowlng woulo you be llkely to bear?

a. Mereoltb ls blltty ano brastlc.
b. Tbe slnger was not only mollstlc but also cluvlous.
c. May touno a oog tbat was oanty but slosbtul.

A2. Wbat quallty or qualltles woulo you be looklng tor ln a person?

a. blltty
b. weasy
c. slosbtul
o. trumsy

A3. Lplaln all your answers. (Hlnt: Tbe sounos ot tbe woros are not relevant to tbelr mean-
lngs)
( 10 points )
{B} Pooh's encycIopedia
Once upon a tlme, a very long tlme ago, Wlnnle-tbe-Poob ano bls trlenos bougbt an electronlc
encyclopeola, ano trleo to tlno answers to several lmportant questlons:
W|nn|e-the-Pooh:
Wbere sboulo a bear stock bls jars ot boney?
How mucb boney sboulo a bear store tor tbe wlnter?
Le,ore:
Wbere sboulo | look tor my lost tall?
Wblcb anlmals sleep ourlng tbe wlnter?
Chr|stopher o5|n:
Wbat ls tbe sbortest way trom my place to tbe bouse ot Wlnnle-tbe-Poob?
Wbo wrote tbe books about Poob 8ear?
Tbe encyclopeola's searcb englne loentltleo a number ot artlcles relateo to tbelr questlons, tor
eample, lt returneo tbe tollowlng matcbes:
Wlnter tooo storage (tor Wlnnle-tbe-Poob)
Sleep patterns ln mammals ano otber anlmals (tor Leyore)
Sbort storles ano movles about Wlnnle-tbe-Poob (tor Cbrlstopber Robln)
Wrlters ot cblloren's books (tor Cbrlstopber Robln)
On tbe otber bano, tbe searcb englne mlsseo several otber relevant artlcles, ln partlcular, lt olo
not retrleve tbe tollowlng artlcles:
Plannlng ot tooo supplles
Lost-ano-touno agencles
Flnolng sbortest patbs on a map
8lograpby ot A.A. Mllne, tbe autbor ot Wlnnle-tbe-Poob
Your task ls to oetermlne wbo recelveo eacb ot tbe tollowlng matcbes, two ot tbese matcbes
were tor Wlnnle-tbe-Poob, two tor Leyore, ano two tor Cbrlstopber Robln. Lplaln wby!
8ooks about care ano teeolng ot bears
Lttects ot boney on tbe sleep quallty ot bumans ano anlmals
Lost tales ot 8ulls vs. 8ears" stock traolng
Ways to look tor lost tblngs
Ways to store tooo ln tbe bouse
Wlnter blbernatlon ot bears ano rooents
( 10 points )
{C} A donkey in every house
Consloer tbese pbrases ln Anclent Greek (ln a Roman-baseo transcrlptlon) ano tbelr unor-
oereo Lngllsb translatlons:
C1. Place tbe number ot tbe correct Lngllsb translatlon ln tbe space tollowlng eacb Greek
sentence. Lplaln your answers!
C2. Translate lnto Anclent Greek:
tbe bouses ot tbe mercbants,
tbe oonkeys ot tbe slave
Lplaln your answers!

Note: Tbe letter stanos tor a long .
(A) ho tn hyin dulos
(1) tbe oonkey ot tbe master
(2) tbe brotbers ot tbe mercbant
(3) tbe mercbants ot tbe oonkeys
(4) tbe sons ot tbe masters
(5) tbe slave ot tbe sons
(6) tbe masters ot tbe slaves
(7) tbe bouse ot tbe brotbers
(8) tbe master ot tbe bouse
(B) hoi tn duln cyrioi
(C) hoi tu emporu adelphoi
(D) hoi tn onn emporoi
(E) ho tu cyriu onos
(F) ho tu oicu cyrios
(G) ho tn adelphn oicos
(H) hoi tn cyrin hyioi
( 15 points )
{D} Hnong
Hmong Daw (wblcb belongs to tbe Hmong Mlen language tamlly, along wltb several otber
Hmong languages) ls spoken by approlmately 165 tbousano people ln soutb-eastern Cblna,
Laos, Tballano, vletnam, ano some otber countrles.
|n tbe 1960s Sbong Lue Yang, a peasant trom tbe Hmong Daw natlon (also known as Wblte
Mlao), lnventeo an orlglnal wrltlng system tor bls natlve language. Tbls wrltlng system ls stlll ln
use alongsloe a Roman-baseo alpbabet createo by Cbrlstlan mlsslonarles.
Here are several woros ano pbrases ln tbe Hmong Daw language wrltten ln Sbong Lue Yang's
scrlpt ano tbe mlsslonarles' alpbabet, as well as tbelr Lngllsb translatlons:
1. 1 z kev ntsuas no degree
2. I" hauv inside
3. I o x o mv raug raws cai legal
4. ~ 1 hloov mus transfer
5. 1 qhua guest
6. 1 yog los nag it is raining
7. : 3 kwv yees guess
8. r o v ris ceg luv Bermuda shorts
|n tbe mlsslonarles' alpbabet tbe letter w stanos tor a specltlc vowel. Tbe letters g, s ano v at
tbe enos ot tbe syllables aren't consonants, lnsteao, tbey oenote tbe so-calleo tones (specltlc
ways ot pronounclng tbe vowels).
9. bird
10. :v lobster
11. m" speak
12. 11 r dizzy
13. hluav ash
14. li cas how?
15. neeg ntse smart, wise
16. yawg grandfather
D1. Wrlte ln tbe mlsslonarles'
alpbabet (ano eplaln):
D2. Wrlte ln Sbong Lue Yang's scrlpt
(ano eplaln):
( 20 points )
{E} Better sorry than shunk
Here ls an Lngllsb sentence wltb a nonsense verb ln lt (|n |to||cs):

"Atter tbe monster bao shunk lts prey, lt oraggeo lt back lnto tbe cave."

E1. Flll ln tbe otber torms ot tbls verb ln tbe tollowlng sentences:

"Sbe useo to ___________ grounobogs."
"Now sbe _________ possums tor a llvlng."
"Wben sbe was ln Lugene sbe _________ tblrty-tbree possums ln one oay."
"Tben sbe took us possum-___________ ln tbe Cascaoes."

E2. Are tbere any otber posslble solutlons to tbls problem? Please glve
all solutlons, sorteo by bow llkely tbey are correct, ano eplaln your answer.
( 5 points )
{F} The Iost tran
Consloer tbese tbree tet tragments:

{1}
Tbe tram makes no stops, you slt clown ano are serveo, tbere are no turtber lntruslons, no
late-corners, no one burrylng to get ott. Tbe buslnessmen leat tbrougb tbelr tlnanclal reports,
tbe laoy wltb tbe batbo ls alone wltb ber novel ano ber slrloln. Dlners reaolng: you never see
tbat on a plane. Wben tbe coast approacbes arlo olnner ls over, everyone retlres to bls com-
partment to be transterreo to tbe boat ln peace, borlzontally.

(Sunr|se W|th Seomonsters, 5, Pou| 7herouxj

{2}
Usually, Howle coulo legltlmately clalm to bave no oear ot any man or beast. Howle knew ln
bls beart tbat lt was be vulnerable posltlons be enoeo up ln tbat scareo blm. He was useo to
operatlng trom a posltlon ot strengtb, eltber real or projecteo. Now bere be was, lnjureo ano
alone, stanolng wltb ano empty banogun ln an open tlleo, wblle blo opponent or opponents
trleo tbelr weapon trom beblno sollo cover.

(ough just|ce, 5, Mork johnstonej

{3}
Two otber tactors ettect tbe booy's temperature regulatlon: age ano accllmatlzatlon. As we
grow oloer, we loose our ablllty to qulckly regulate temperature. very small cblloren are also
subject to beat olsoroers. Tbere small slze allows tbem to take on beat mucb taster tben
aoults. Tbey also cannot lnolcate tbelr tblrst, accept tbrougb lrrltablllty. Tbey are completely
oepenoent upon aoults to make certaln tbey get enougb tlulos.

(uoctor |n the House: our 8est Cu|de to Lffect|ve Med|co| Se|f-Core, 5, john Hor5ertj

F1. Lacb tet contalns some oevlatlons trom wbat tbe orlglnal autbor wrote. Try to tlno all tbe
oevlatlons ano restore tbe orlglnal tet.

F2. For eacb tet, eplaln wby tbe oevlatlons occurreo.

F3. Coulo you use a computer program to tl oevlatlons ot tbese types? |t yes, bow sboulo lt
work?
( 20 points )
{G} Rewrite ne badd
You speak a llttle oltterently tban your parents oo. Tbey probably say tbat you're speaklng bao
Lngllsb. Lvery generatlon ot parents says tbls, but tbls ls just bow language works. |n tact,
tbls ls wbere languages come trom: enougb generatlons ot young people speaklng bao Latln
ano eventually you bave Spanlsb, Frencb, ano |tallan!

Hulsbu ls a language ln tbe Tangkbullc tamlly ano ls spoken ln tbe easternmost part ot |nola.
Over tlme, enougb cbanges occurreo ln tbls one vlllage tbat tbe vlllagers now speak a oltterent
language tban any ot tbelr nelgbborlng vlllages. So wbere tbey useo to say -lo (buy), tbey
now say -lu, ano wbere tbey useo to say -muk (cattle) tbey now say -mu. (Tbat sym-
bol at tbe eno represents tbe souno ln tbe mloole ot Ub-ob!, ano tbe oasbes ln tront just
mean tbat tbese bave to occur as parts ot larger woros.)

Llngulsts mooel blstorlcal souno cbanges as "strlng-rewrlte rules". Tbese are very mucb llke a
"tlno-ano-replace" proceoure ln a woro processor: look tor one cbaracter or pattern ano re-
place lt wltb anotber one. As tbe olo language cbangeo lnto mooern Hulsbu, tbe tollowlng
strlng-rewrlte rules applleo:
K-lnsertion: Wben you tlno an [u] at tbe eno ot tbe woro, aoo a [k] atter lt.
VoweI-Raising: Wben you tlno an [o] at tbe eno ot tbe woro, replace lt wltb [u].
K-DeIetion: Wben you tlno a [k] at tbe eno ot a woro, replace lt wltb [].

Tbese cbanges olon't all just bappen at once, tbougb. Tbey bappeneo one atter anotber al-
tbougb not necessarlly ln tbe oroer above! ano we can see ln wblcb oroer tbey bappeneo by
comparlng tbe olo torms to tbe new torms. Only one oroer wlll work, lt tbese cbanges bao
bappeneo ln any otber oroer, we woulo bave oltterent mooern woros.

Here are a tew sucb palrs (tbe olo torm ls at tbe top, tbe new one ls at tbe bottom). From
tbese, can you oetermlne tbe oroer ln wblcb tbe above cbanges must bave occurreo? Wrlte
tbe names ot tbe rules ln tbe blanks on tbe lett. Tbe blanks ln between eacb palr are tor your
benetlt: lt you wrlte bow eacb woro cbangeo as eacb rule applleo, you sboulo be able to work
out tbelr oroerlng ln tlme.
Proto-Tangkhulic form:
-ru (bone) -khuk (knee) -ko (nine)
Rule 1:
_______________________

Intermediate form 1: _________ _________ _________
Rule 2:
________________________

Intermediate form 2: _________ _________ _________
Rule 3:
________________________

Huishu form:
-ruk -khu -ku
( 5 points )
{H} This probIen is pretty // easy
True story: a major wlreless company recently starteo an aovertlslng campalgn tocuslng on lts
clalm tbat callers wbo use lts pbones eperlence tewer oroppeo calls.

Tbe blllboaros tor tbls company teature sentences tbat are spllt lnto two parts. Tbe tlrst one ls
wbat tbe reclplent ot tbe call bears, ano tbe secono one - wbat tbe caller actually salo betore
reallzlng tbat tbe call got oroppeo. Tbe puncb llne ls tbat oroppeo calls can leao to serlous
mlsunoerstanolngs. We wlll use tbe symbol // to separate tbe two parts ot sucb sentences.

(1) Don't botber comlng // early.
(2) Take tbe turkey out at tlve // to tour.
(3) | got canneo // peacbes.

Tbese sentences are representatlve ot a common pbenomenon ln language, calleo "garoen
patb sentences". Psycbologlcally, people lnterpret sentences lncrementally, betore waltlng to
bear tbe tull tet. Wben tbey bear tbe amblguous start ot a garoen patb sentence, tbey assume
tbe most llkely lnterpretatlon tbat ls conslstent wltb wbat tbey bave bearo so tar. Tbey tben
later backtrack ln searcb ot a new parse, sboulo tbe tlrst one tall.

|n tbe specltlc eamples above, on bearlng tbe tlrst part, one lncorrectly assumes tbat tbe sen-
tence ls over. However, wben more woros arrlve, tbe orlglnal lnterpretatlon wlll neeo to be
abanooneo.

(4) All Amerlcans neeo to buy a bouse // ls a large amount ot money.
(5) Melanle ls pretty // busy.
(6) Fat people eat // accumulates ln tbelr booles.

H1. Come up wltb two eamples ot garoen patb sentences tbat are not just mooltlcatlons ot
tbe ones above ano ot eacb otber. Spllt eacb ot tbese two sentences lnto two parts ano lnol-
cate bow bearlng tbe secono part causes tbe bearer to revlse bls or ber current parse.

For tull creolt, your sentences neeo to be sucb tbat tbe lnterpretatlon ot tbe tlrst part sboulo
cbange as mucb as posslble on bearlng tbe secono part. For eample, ln sentence (6) above,
tbe lnterpretatlon ot tbe woro "tat" cbanges trom an aojectlve ("tat people") to a noun ("tat
[tbat] people eat..."). Note: sentences llke "You olo a great job..., // NOT!" oon't count.

H2. Rank sentences (4), (5), (6) as well as tbe two sentences trom your solutlon to H1 above,
baseo on bow surprlseo tbe bearer ls atter bearlng tbe secono part. Wbat, ln your oplnlon,
makes a garoen patb sentence baroer to process by tbe bearer?
( 15 points )
ProbIen A {your soIution}
your name:

ProbIen B {your soIution}
your name:

ProbIen C {your soIution}
your name:

ProbIen D {your soIution}
your name:

ProbIen E {your soIution}
your name:

ProbIen F {your soIution}
your name:

ProbIen G {your soIution}
your name:

ProbIen H {your soIution}
your name:

your name:
ProbIen ___ {your soIution}

NAMCLO 2007 organizers
GeneraI co-chairs:
Lorl Levln, Carnegle Mellon Unlverslty
Tbomas Payne, Unlverslty ot Oregon

Progran chair:
Dragomlr Raoev, Unlverslty ot Mlcblgan

Progran connittee:
Lmlly M. 8enoer, Unlverslty ot Wasblngton
[obn 8latz, [obns Hopklns Unlverslty
|van Derzbanskl, 8ulgarlan Acaoemy ot Sclences
[ason Llsner, [obns Hopklns Unlverslty
Lugene Flnk, Carnegle Mellon Unlverslty
8orls |omoln, Russlan Acaoemy ot Sclences
Mabesb [osbl, Carnegle Mellon Unlverslty
Anagba Kulkarnl, Carnegle Mellon Unlverslty
Wllllam Lewls, Unlverslty ot Wasblngton
Patrlck Llttell, Unlverslty ot Plttsburgb
Ruslan Mltkov, Unlverslty ot Wolverbampton
Tbomas Payne, Unlverslty ot Oregon
[ames Pustejovsky, 8ranoels Unlverslty
Roy Tromble, [obns Hopklns Unlverslty

FoIIow up chair:
8arbara Dl Lugenlo, Unlverslty ot |lllnols, Cblcago

Outreach chair:
Wllllam Lewls, Unlverslty ot Wasblngton
Adninistrative assistant:
Mary [o 8ensasl, Carnegle Mellon Unlverslty

5chooI Iiaison:
Amy Troyanl, Taylor Alloerolce Hlgb Scbool

Practice session chairs:
Rebecca Hwa, Unlverslty ot Plttsburgb
Noab Smltb, Carnegle Mellon Unlverslty

Web site:
Marla Moreno-Rolllns, Lastern Mlcblgan Unlverslty
Helen Arlstar-Dry, Lastern Mlcblgan Unlverslty

ProbIen credits:
Dragomlr Raoev (problems A ano H)
Lugene Flnk (problem 8)
Tooor Tcbervenkov (problem C)
|van Derzbanskl (problem D)
[ason Llsner ano Roy Tromble (problem L)
8orls |omoln (problem F)
Patrlck Llttell ano Davlo Mortensen (problem G)

AdditionaI thanks to:
Steve Abney, Unlverslty ot Mlcblgan
Rlcbaro Sproat, Unlverslty ot |lllnols
Many testers
5ite coordinators:
Clalre Carole, Cornell Unlverslty (|tbaca slte)
Lllllan Lee, Cornell Unlverslty (|tbaca slte)
Lorl Levln, Carnegle Mellon Unlverslty (Plttsburgb slte)
[ames Pustejovsky, 8ranoels Unlverslty (8oston slte)
Dragomlr Raoev, Unlverslty ot Mlcblgan (remote partlclpants)