CLAVELL - Cognitive Linguistic Annotation and Visualization Environment for Language Learning

Abstract

In this paper we introduce a novel sentence annotation based on radical construction grammar and Uniform Meaning Representation, which covers all levels of linguistic analysis, from interlinear morphemic glossing to PropBank rolesets, WordNet synsets, and Wikipedia page titles as concept identifiers. We visually enhance our annotation by using images to represent concepts, emojis for thematic roles, and color-coding for constructions. The meaning representation is embedded into the syntactic parse by aligning all concepts with the surface tokens in the sentence. The main motivation for developing this type of representation was its use in second language acquisition as part of a Web-based language learning environment. In entertaining and engaging annotation tasks language students assemble the representation step-by-step following a bottom-up strategy. Based on language exposure while performing these exercises, we populate personal idiolectal constructicons representing the students’ current status of second language comprehension. As first use case, we have implemented a solution for Japanese due to its soaring popularity in our language education program and the particular challenges involved with trying to master this language.

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