Research

Ph.D. Thesis: Towards a Unified System of Representation for Continuity and Discontinuity in Natural Language

Dr.Prakash Mondal, Department of Liberal Arts, IITH (advisor)

Dr. Srijith.P.K., Department of CSE & AI, IITH

Prof. Prajit Basu, Department of Philosophy, UoH

My Ph.D. work (2019-2024):

My research interests are mainly syntax, semantics, and Natural Language Processing (NLP). Specifically, I worked in the area of discontinuity in natural language. In my thesis, we've proposed a novel Correspondence Principle to unify head-dependent relations and functor-argument relations. The aim was to achieve a unified representation of constituency, head-dependent, and functor-argument relations for discontinuous sentences through mathematical/logical derivations for sentences in natural language. These included simple and complex sentences from German, Croatian, Kwak'wala (British Columbia), Kalkatungu (North Australia), Salish, Malagasy (Madagascar), Wan (Ivory Coast), and Turkish. We worked on understanding how the unified representation relates to the representation of continuous and discontinuous structures in our neurocognitive system and its implications for parsing. 

Does this description seem a bit too technical? No worries! Let me simplify my current research for you:

Have you ever wondered how our brains can quickly understand sentences with all the words jumbled up? It's like solving a puzzle in the blink of an eye. Our brains are like language experts, smoothly handling words on the go. This has fascinated experts in language and the brain for a long time. That's exactly what we're exploring—diving into this incredible world of language.

While most studies focus on languages with specific word orders, we're taking a closer look at languages like Malayalam, Turkish etc. In these languages, words can freely swap places. But how does the brain manage this linguistic dance? Armed with curiosity and insights from studying language and the brain, our current research is aimed towards uncovering the brain's hidden talents. It's like being a language detective, figuring out how our minds understand the order of words.

And the result? It's smooth sailing for language processing. We're connecting the dots between language structures and how the brain works, giving us a clearer understanding of languages from all around the world. But it's not just about sentences—it's about the fascinating way humans connect. Our discoveries, even though they might seem complex, touch lives in many ways. So, next time you're chatting, take a moment to appreciate how your brain effortlessly weaves words into a perfect symphony!

Masters Thesis: Modelling the Mushroom Body Circuitry to understand the role of feedback mechanisms from the alpha and beta lobes to the calyx

Advisor: Dr. Joby Joseph, Neuronal Systems Lab, UoH