Linguistics 384: Language and Computers (Autumn 04)

Course goals: In the past decade, the widening use of computers has had a profound influence on the way ordinary people communicate, search and store information. For the overwhelming majority of people and situations, the natural vehicle for such information is natural language. Text and to a lesser extent speech are crucial encoding formats for the information revolution.

In this course, you will be given insight into the fundamentals of how computers are used to represent, process and organize textual and spoken information, as well as tips on how to effectively integrate this knowledge into working practice. We will cover the theory and practice of human language technology. Topics include text encoding, search technology, tools for writing support, machine translation, dialog systems, computer aided language learning and the social context of language technology.

Instructor: Detmar Meurers

Office: 201a Oxley Hall (enter through 201 computer lab; if locked, knock loudly)
Phone: 292-0461 (usually email works better)
Email: dm@ling.osu.edu
Office hours: Tuesday 2:00-3:00pm (in my office), after Thursday's class (in the classroom), and by appointment

Course meets: Tuesday and Thursday 3:30-5:18pm in 131 Mendenhall Laboratory

Course website: http://purl.org/net/dm/04/autumn/384/

The updated syllabus, assignments, slides, etc. will be posted there; check it regularly!

Course email: meurers384@ling.osu.edu

Mail sent to this address is forwarded to the official email addresses (Name.Number@osu.edu) of all students enrolled in the class and the instructor. Note that you should read email sent to your official osu account on a daily basis---it'll also help you avoid high library fines!

Anonymous feedback: If you have comments, complaints, or ideas you'd like to send me anonymously, you can use the web form at http://purl.org/net/dm/feedback/ to do so.

Please send me ordinary email for anything that you'd like to receive a reply to---there really is no way for me to find out who sent me something via the anonymous feedback form!

Readings: There is no textbook for this course (the topic is quite new, at OSU and elsewhere). There will be some readings assigned periodically throughout the course.

I will distribute slides in class for each unit. These will also be available on the web after the class in which they are first distributed. These slides are a skeleton of the material covered; they cannot replace actually being in class. In my experience, students who actively participate in class enjoy the course more and get better grades than those who don't---very surprising, isn't it? ;-)

Course requirements: The basic requirement is active participation in class. There will be roughly one online quiz per week, to ensure the material covered in class is mastered. And there will be a total of six homework (exercise sheets). These assignments give the opportunity to explore new aspects of the topics discussed in class. The midterm will consist of the material covered in the first half of the class, and the final will cover the contents covered in the second half of the class.

Grading: Grades will be based on classroom discussion, quizzes, homeworks, a midterm exam, and the final examination, using the following scheme:

Participation	10%
Quizzes	20%
Homeworks	30%
Midterm	20%	(on Thursday, Nov 4, 3:30--5:18pm)
Final	20%	(on Tuesday, Dec 7, 3:30--5:18pm)

Given that homeworks, quizzes, and the exams reflect the material covered in class, attendance is essential for doing well in this class.
Homework assignments are due by the beginning of class, on a piece of paper. No late homeworks are accepted.

I encourage group work on the homework assignments, but each of you should write out your own answers. Note that group work means that everyone in the group contributes and fully understands what you turn in---where in doubt, I may ask you individually to explain to me in person what you turned in.
Quizzes are administered through WebCT (http://class.osu.edu) and are due by midnight of the day indicated. They will be shut off automatically once the deadline is reached. You will generally have a week to complete a quiz, so do not put it off to the last minute! The quizzes naturally are open book, so you should view them as an opportunity for reviewing the material covered, based on the handouts.

Note: I do not promise to remind you when you have a quiz due. It is your responsibility to keep up with the syllabus.
If you feel that I have graded anything incorrectly or improperly, please contact me outside of class. I will be happy to discuss your concerns.
Grading scale (scores in percentages):

B+ 87--89 C+ 77--79 D+ 67--69 E 0--59

A 93--100 B 83--86 C 73--76 D 60--66

A- 90--92 B- 80--82 C- 70--72

Make-up Policy: If you know you won't be able to make a deadline or exam, please see me before you miss the deadline or exam. If you miss the midterm or final, you will have to provide extensive written documentation for your excuse.

As you generally will have a week to take them, there are no make-ups for the quizzes.

Academic Misconduct: To state the obvious, academic dishonesty is not allowed. Cheating on tests or on other assignments will be reported to the University Committee on Academic Misconduct. The most common form of misconduct is plagiarism. Remember that any time you use the ideas or the materials of another person, you must acknowledge that you have done so in a citation. This includes material that you have found on the Web. The University provides guidelines for research on the Web at http://gateway.lib.ohio-state.edu/tutor/.

Class etiquette: I expect you to respect one another, to respect me, and to respect yourself. To that end, I expect you to obey the following rules:

Participate: share experiences, ask questions, express your opinions. Ask me to provide more information, send me emails or see me during office hours for help, clarification, or recommendations for further research.
Do not read newspapers, materials from other classes, etc. in class. Do not pack up early. Switch off your cell phone. If for some reason, you must leave early or you have an important call coming in, notify me before class.

Students with Disabilities: Students who need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact me to arrange an appointment as soon as possible to discuss the course format, to anticipate needs, and to explore potential accommodations. I rely on the Office of Disability Services for assistance in verifying the need for accommodations and developing accommodation strategies. Students who have not previously contacted the Office for Disability Services are encouraged to do so (292-3307; http://www.ods.ohio-state.edu).

Schedule: The latest version of the schedule is always available from our web page. After the lectures, the titles in the schedule below are linked to the handouts we used (in pdf format); the same is true for the homework sheets.

purl.org/net/dm>Social context of technology use

Week	Month	Date	Day	Topic	Assignments due
1	Sept.	23	R	Intro to class
2		28	T	Text and speech encoding
		30	R	(cont.)
3	Oct.	5	T	(cont.)	Quiz1
		7	R	Searching
4		12	T	(cont.)	HW1
		14	R	Spam filtering
5		19	T	(cont.)	HW2/Quiz2
		21	R	Writer's aids
6		26	T	(cont.)
		28	R	(cont.)
7	Nov.	2	T	(cont.) and exercises	Quiz3
		4	R	MIDTERM	Exam!, HW3
8		9	T	Machine Translation I
		11	R	no class (Veterans' Day)
9		16	T	(cont.)
		18	R	(cont.)
10		23	T	Computer-aided language learning	HW4/Quiz4
		25	R	no class (Thanksgiving Day)
11		30	T	(cont.)
	Dec.	2	R	HW5
12		7	T	FINAL	Exam!, Quiz5

Disclaimer: This syllabus is subject to change. All important changes will be made in writing (email), with ample time for adjustment.

This document was translated from L^AT_EX by H^EV^EA.

		B+	87--89	C+	77--79	D+	67--69	E	0--59
A	93--100	B	83--86	C	73--76	D	60--66
A-	90--92	B-	80--82	C-	70--72