COS2601 ASSIGNMENT with discussions on correct answers
Question 1:Who created the subject of mathematical models for the
description of languages in an attempt to answer questions such as:
• What is language in general?
• How could primitive humans have developed language?
• How do people understand language?
• How do children learn language?
• How do people construct sentences from the ideas in their minds?
a) Noam Chomsky – page 6-7
b) Alan Turing
c) Kurt Gödel
d) David Hilbert
Discussion: Modern linguists, some influenced by the prevalent trends in mathematical logic and
some by the emerging theories of developmental psychology, had been investigating a very similar
subject: What is language in general? How could primitive humans have developed language?
How do people understand it? How do they learn it as children? What ideas can be expressed, and
in what ways? How do people construct sentences from the ideas in their minds?
The subject of mathematical models for the description of languages is known as computational
linguistics, and it is a field that emerged in the mid-twentieth century. One of the early pioneers in
this field was Noam Chomsky, a linguist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Chomsky developed a theory of generative grammar, which posits that human language is based on
a set of underlying rules that are common to all languages. He argued that these rules could be
described using mathematical models, which would help to answer questions about the nature of
language and how it is learned and processed by the human mind.
Chomsky's work has been influential in the development of computational linguistics and related
fields such as natural language processing and artificial intelligence. Today, computational
linguists use a variety of mathematical models and algorithms to study language and build
computer systems that can understand and generate natural language.
Question 2: Let S = {a b} and let T= {a b bb}. Which one of the
following statements is true?
a) S+ = S*
b) S* = S**
c) S ⊄ S*
d) S* ≠ T*
Question 1:Who created the subject of mathematical models for the
description of languages in an attempt to answer questions such as:
• What is language in general?
• How could primitive humans have developed language?
• How do people understand language?
• How do children learn language?
• How do people construct sentences from the ideas in their minds?
a) Noam Chomsky – page 6-7
b) Alan Turing
c) Kurt Gödel
d) David Hilbert
Discussion: Modern linguists, some influenced by the prevalent trends in mathematical logic and
some by the emerging theories of developmental psychology, had been investigating a very similar
subject: What is language in general? How could primitive humans have developed language?
How do people understand it? How do they learn it as children? What ideas can be expressed, and
in what ways? How do people construct sentences from the ideas in their minds?
The subject of mathematical models for the description of languages is known as computational
linguistics, and it is a field that emerged in the mid-twentieth century. One of the early pioneers in
this field was Noam Chomsky, a linguist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Chomsky developed a theory of generative grammar, which posits that human language is based on
a set of underlying rules that are common to all languages. He argued that these rules could be
described using mathematical models, which would help to answer questions about the nature of
language and how it is learned and processed by the human mind.
Chomsky's work has been influential in the development of computational linguistics and related
fields such as natural language processing and artificial intelligence. Today, computational
linguists use a variety of mathematical models and algorithms to study language and build
computer systems that can understand and generate natural language.
Question 2: Let S = {a b} and let T= {a b bb}. Which one of the
following statements is true?
a) S+ = S*
b) S* = S**
c) S ⊄ S*
d) S* ≠ T*
