This paper introduces the first pattern-based Persian Temporal Relation Classifier (PTRC) that finds the type of temporal relations between pairs of events in the Persian texts. The proposed system uses support vector machines (SVMs) equipped by combinations of simple, convolution tree, and string subsequence kernels (SSK). In order to evaluate the algorithm, we have developed a Persian TimeBan...

Since Heubner's (1985) pioneering study, there have been many studies on (mis) use/ non-use of articles by L2 learners from article-less and article languages. The present study investigated how Persian L2 learners of English produce and interpret English definite descriptions and demonstrative descriptions. It was assumed that definite and demonstrative descriptions share the same central sema...

This paper examines the intricate relationship between working memory (WM) capacity and inhibitory control as a function of both L2 proficiency and age. In both its design and research questions, this study closely follows Gass & Lee's work, where both L1 and L2 Reading Span Tasks (as measures of WM capacity) and L1 and L2 Stroop interference tasks (to measure inhibitory control) were admin...

In the recent decade, with the enormous growth of digital content in internet and databases, sentiment analysis has received more and more attention between information retrieval and natural language processing researchers. Sentiment analysis aims to use automated tools to detect subjective information from reviews. One of the main challenges in sentiment analysis is feature selection. Feature ...

Investigating transfer of one’s pragmatic knowledge of first language to his second or foreign language has been one of the areas of interest for researchers. However, there are contradictory results even within the scarce studies which have addressed transferability. This study was an attempt to investigate perceived pragmatic transferability of L1 refusal strategies by Persian EFL learners. S...

In this paper, we address the problem of quantifying the overall extent to which a testtaker’s essay deals with the topic it is assigned (prompt). We experiment with a number of models for word topicality, and a number of approaches for aggregating word-level indices into text-level ones. All models are evaluated for their ability to predict the holistic quality of essays. We show that the best...

Evidence shows that second language (L2) learning affects cognitive function. Here in this work, we compared brain activation native speakers of Mandarin (L1) who speak Japanese between and within two groups (high low L2 ability) to determine the effect ability L1 speaking tasks, map regions involved both tasks. The during task performance was determined using prefrontal cortex blood flow as a ...