Logic List Mailing Archive

CoSLI-2: Computational Models for Spatial Language Interpretation

20-23 July 2011
Boston MA, U.S.A.

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   Workshop on Computational Models for Spatial Language
           Interpretation and Generation (CoSLI-2)
                  http://www.cosli.org

              In conjunction with CogSci 2011
                 Boston, USA, 20-23 July

             Submission Deadline:  13 May 2011
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WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION

Competence in spatial language modeling is a cardinal issue in
disciplines including Cognitive Psychology, Computational Linguistics,
and Computer Science. Within Cognitive Psychology, the relation of
spatial language to models of spatial representation and reasoning is
considered essential to the development of more complete models of
psycholinguistic and cognitive linguistic theories. Meanwhile, within
Computer Science and Computational Linguistics, the development of a
wide class of so-called situated systems such as robotics, virtual
characters, and Geographic Information Systems is heavily dependent on
the existence of adequate models of spatial language use.

Achieving competence in spatial language requires that appropriate
meanings be assigned to spatial terms used in language, such as
location, motion, orientation, perspective, projective, topological,
distance, or path descriptive markers. The computational modeling of
such spatial language meanings in turn supports the interpretation of an
intended spatial meaning as well as the generation of adequate
linguistic expressions in certain situations and contexts. It is now
widely recognized that spatial term meaning depends on functional and
pragmatic features in many ways. Competent models of spatial language
interpretation and generation must thus draw on complex models of
situated meaning by developing heterogeneous approaches with qualitative
and quantitative models and by combining geometric, functional,
pragmatic, and cognitive features in multi-modal contexts and
applications.

AIMS

The main objective of the CoSLI-2 workshop is to foster computational
formalisms and approaches for interpreting or generating spatial
language that take into account cognitive, functional, or embodiment
criteria in modeling. In particular, this year?s workshop theme is
"Function in Spatial Language: From evidence to execution", and we
welcome in particular any contributions which aim to address the issues
of modeling function or pragmatic features in spatial language
interpretation or generation.
More generally, the workshop also welcomes contributions that address
symbolic and embodied spatial language interpretation and generation.
This topic remains an ongoing issue in both natural language processing
and cognitive science, and novel work is encouraged. Such work includes
both formal and empirical models of spatial language templates and
linguistic calculi, corpus-based and statistical methods, combinations
of symbolic and sub-symbolic representations, and aspects of
sensory-motor and multi-modal information. Contributions to spatial
language interpretation and generation that integrate results from
empirical and psychological frameworks for spatial language and that can
improve and support situated natural language systems are also
particularly welcomed.

TOPICS

We particularly welcome contributions that address the following:

     * Computational models of spatial language that integrate cognitive,
functional, or pragmatic aspects either in terms of implemented systems,
computational models, empirical findings, or position papers that make
clear a novel approach to this problem

More generally we invite papers that address topics including:

     * Computational models of spatial language processing based on
formal symbolic and qualitative theories
     * Computational models of spatial language processing based on
embodied or quantitative models
     * Models for processing spatial language in vision recognition
systems, GIS, dialogue systems, robotics, and other applications
     * Connectionist theories of spatial language
     * Dynamic systems models of spatial term meaning
     * Linguistically-inspired formal spatial calculi and their
applications
     * Metaphorical use of spatial language and its processing
     * Computing spatial alignments in human-computer interaction
     * Models for cross-cultural natural language processing
     * Spatial language corpora for certain tasks or applications
     * Models for sign languages and spatial gestures


SUBMISSION

All papers should be submitted in English as PDF documents. We welcome
full papers of length 4-6 pages formatted in accordance with the
Springer LNCS style (see
http://www.springer.de/comp/lncs/authors.html ).
Submissions can be made via the EasyChair website at:
https://www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=cosli2


IMPORTANT DATES:

Submission Deadline     13 May  2011
Notification            13 June 2011
Final Version Deadline   1 July 2011
Workshop Day            20 July 2011


ORGANIZERS:

Joana Hois
University of Bremen
Germany

Robert Ross
Artificial Intelligence Group
Dublin Institute of Technology
Ireland

John Kelleher
Artificial Intelligence Group
Dublin Institute of Technology
Ireland


PROGRAM COMMITTEE:

* Marios Avraamides, University of Cyprus, Cyprus
* John Bateman, University of Bremen, Germany
* Kenny Coventry, Northumbria University, UK
* Alexander Koller, University of Potsdam, Germany
* Alexander Klippel, Penn State, USA
* Amitabha Mukerjee, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India
* Philippe Muller, Université Paul Sabatier, France
* David Schlangen, University of Bielefeld, Germany
* Emile van der Zee, University of Lincoln, UK
* Joost Zwarts, Universiteit Utrecht, Netherlands