Tuesday, 8 October 2002
2:30 - 4:00   Daniele Bargelli
Computational Approach to Arabic Conjugation

Abstract: We study the rich system of Arabic
conjugation, which according to one way of counting,
comprises 936 finite verb-forms. Surprisingly, these
can be generated by a relatively small number of
morphological rules. In contrast to other familiar
languages, even "irregular" verbs are subject to
rule-governed phonological modifications.
In our investigation of the Arabic verb, we confine
attention to modern standard Arabic in romanized
transliteration. It is clear that various Arabic
dialects can be handled similarly, in particular
Maltese, the only "dialect" written in Latin letters.