CLAW '98: 2nd International Workshop on
Controlled Language Applications

Language Technologies Institute
Carnegie Mellon University

21-22 May 1998

News

• June 5, 1998
  The workshop was a great success, judging from the feedback we received from those attending. Thanks to all of you for making the workshop a stimulating a productive meeting!

  The proceedings of both CLAW '98 and CLAW '96 are now available by mail order from CMU/LTI [ details ].

• May 19, 1998
  An updated final program is available.

• April 7, 1998
  The preliminary program and registration information is now available. Pre-register by May 8, 1998.

• October 24, 1997
  The first call for papers is now available. Paper and demonstration submissions are due by February 16, 1998.

General Information

The Language Technologies Institute (LTI) at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh PA, will host the next International Workshop on Controlled Language Applications (CLAW), in Spring 1998. CMU is a focal point for leading research in Natural Language Processing, Machine Translation, and Controlled Languages. With state-of-the-art conference facilities in its newly inaugurated University Center, CMU is an ideal location for the next CLAW conference.

• Conference Site
  The new University Center, opened in August '96, offers a large ballroom, a conference amphitheater with exceptional audio-visual facilities, numerous smaller meeting rooms, several restaurants, a convenience store, a two-floor bookstore and gift shop, spacious common areas, and easy load-in access from Forbes Avenue.
• Food Services
  The University Center provides a variety of options. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served in the Faculty Club. Informal meals can be purchased from several vendors serving a variety of foods, including vegetarian / Middle Eastern, Mexican, and Italian.
• Lodging
  Special conference rates have been secured at the Holiday Inn and Hampton Inn; See the preliminary program for details.
• Airport Transportation
  The Pittsburgh International Airport is a 40 minute drive from CMU. Shuttle bus service is provided each hour from the airport to the University and area hotels.
• Recreational Facilities
  CMU is situated next to Schenley Park, which offers wooded areas with several walking trails, a public golf course, tennis courts, and a skating rink. The new University Center contains full recreational facilities, including a jogging track, two swimming pools, a basketball court, racquetball courts, training rooms, and an aerobics studio.

Conference Program

We intend to host a conference exhibiting the full range of academic and applied research efforts in controlled languages, with strong industrial and international participation.

• Academic Participation
  Following the precedent set by the first CLAW meeting, academic researchers working in the field and/or with strong interest in controlled languages are invited to participate.

• Industrial Participation
  We intend to solicit participation from existing industrial organizations (such as AECMA), to ensure that the experience and requirements for industrial use of controlled language are well-represented. In addition, we will invite participants from a number of large companies with interest in controlled language (including current, past and possible future members of LTI's Industrial Affiliate program).
• International Participation
  We intend to invite a wide range of academic and industrial participants from the US, Canada, Europe, Japan, and other Pacific Rim nations.

Program Highlights

• General Technical Sessions
  A certain part of the meeting will be devoted to the presentation of reviewed contributions that are relevant to research and development of controlled language, but do not otherwise fit into one of the special sessions topics.
• Panel Discussions
  We are planning to schedule two or three panel discussions on specific topics of interest.

• Poster Sessions and System Demonstrations
  Hosting CLAW will provide us with the opportunity to present a range of poster sessions and demonstrations from all interested participants. We also plan to present CMU's substantial research contributions to the design and deployment of controlled English and other European languages. Network connections and limited machine resources will be made available, for demonstrators who cannot bring their own machines and who arrange their demonstration in advance.

Conference Organization

• Support Personnel
  CMU/LTI will provide human resources for all aspects of conference support, including preregistration, on-site secretariat, and demonstration facilities. The University Center facilities are supported directly by the University, including staff to coordinate audio-visual presentations in the amphitheater.
• Exhibitors
  Space for demonstrations will be provided free-of-charge.
• Conference Banquet
  A conference banquet is being planned; see the preliminary program for more information.

Registration

The registration fee is $120.00/person; see the preliminary program for more information.

Pittsburgh Attractions

Pittsburgh is located at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, where they join to form the Ohio River. A common attraction for visitors is the downtown area, which includes Point State Park, site of the first settlement in Western Pennsylvania; Station Square, a renovated rail station housing numerous restaurants, retail stores, and nightspots; two incline trams, which can be ridden to the summit of Mt. Washington for panoramic vistas of the city; and several riverboats, which offer the possibility of a water cruise in conjunction with a conference banquet.

CMU is situated in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh, which is home to the city's educational, medical and cultural centers. Located within walking distance of CMU are the University of Pittsburgh, the Carnegie Library, the Carnegie Museum of Modern Art, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and the Phipps Conservatory. Other area attractions include Clayton, The Henry Clay Frick Estate; the Frick Museum of Art; Fallingwater, a famous Frank Lloyd Wright house maintained by the Nature Conservancy; and Kentuck Knob, another stunning Wright house just recently opened to the public. Excursion trips from CMU may be arranged as an optional part of the conference package.

About the LTI

The Language Technologies Institute (LTI) was formed in 1996. Part of the School of Computer Science, the LTI includes the Center for Machine Translation (CMT), the M.S. Program in Language Technologies, and the Ph.D. Program in Language and Information Technologies.

The Center for Machine Translation (CMT) is a recognized international leader in the research and development of MT systems. Development and deployment of controlled languages for high-accuracy, automatic MT has been a primary focus of CMT's KANT Project since 1990. Several large KANT applications have been completed or are underway, in support of the creation and deployment of controlled languages (English, European and Asian languages) for MT in practical domains. In addition to the KANT project, the CMT includes substantial projects in the areas of general purpose MT, speech-to-speech MT, computer-aided language instruction, and multilingual information retrieval (summarization, categorization, etc.).

Inquiries about CLAW '98 can be addressed to: