LANGUAGE IN INDIA

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Volume 24:11 November 2024
ISSN 1930-2940

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Transfer Grammar Rules for Malayalam to English Translation

Dr. Selvaraj R., M.A., Ph.D., Jibin Kiran, M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D.,
Rajeev R. R., M.Sc., M.Phil., Ph.D., Archana S Krishnan, M.A., and Navaneeth S., M.Tech.

Abstract

This paper presents a rule-based approach to machine translation from Malayalam to English. Malayalam, a Dravidian language with rich morphological and syntactic structures, poses significant challenges for machine translation. To address these complexities, we propose a set of transformation rules that map Malayalam expressions onto their English equivalents. The rules are designed to handle various grammatical features, including case markers, tense, and aspect. By focusing on these key linguistic elements, we aim to improve the accuracy and fluency of machine translation between the two languages, contributing to advancements in natural language processing and cross-lingual communication.

Keywords: Malayalam, Dravidian language, Machine translation, morphological analysis, grammar, syntax, semantics.

Introduction

Machine Translation is an important area in computational linguistics that automatically translates text from one language to another. There are so many different methods used for machine translation, which are rule-based methods, transfer grammar-based methods, statistical methods, machine learning, deep learning, etc. In this paper, we attempted to list the transfer grammar rules needed for machine translation from Malayalam to English. Malayalam is a language spoken in southern India. It is the main language in the state of Kerala and also spoken in Lakshadweep and Puducherry. Over 35 million people in India speak Malayalam, making it one of the country's major languages. Malayalam is officially recognized by Government of India and is considered a classical language of India. Malayalam is a Dravidian language family language and stands out for its fascinating grammar. Unlike English, it relies on an agglutinative structure, where words are built by attaching suffixes to root words. This allows for a rich and expressive vocabulary. The word order in Malayalam is typically subject-object-verb (SOV), but it can be flexible for emphasis. Nouns change their form depending on their role in the sentence (case) and whether they are singular or plural (Lakshmi & Sobha Lalitha Devi, 2014). Verbs take center stage with conjugations that reflect tense, mood, and even whether the action is caused by someone. In older forms of Malayalam, verbs went even further, indicating person, gender, number, and polarity. adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, and conjunctions remain composed by their context, maintaining their original form.

Unlike Malayalam, with its distinct noun and verb inflections, English grammar takes a different approach. English belongs to a category of languages where word classes, like nouns, verbs, and adjectives, aren't readily apparent from a word's form itself. This can be confusing for translation, as the same word can sometimes be used in multiple ways. Take "run" for example, which can function as both a verb ("He runs every morning") and a noun ("We need a good run"). This is because inflectional endings, which modify a word's meaning based on its role in a sentence, are less common in English compared to languages like Malayalam (Nair, 2012). However, English does have its own methods for word formation. Derivational suffixes, like "-er" turning "run" into "runner," can create new words from existing ones. This flexibility makes English a dynamic language, but it can also present a challenge for those trying to untangle its grammatical intricacies.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

1. Dr. Selvaraj R., M.A., Ph.D.
Senior Linguist
Department of Language Technology
International Center for Free and Open Source Solutions (ICFOSS), Swatantra
Sports Hub, Karyavattom
Thiruvananthapuram - 695581
selvarajicfoss@gmail.com
Mob: 91+9562526995

2. Jibin Kiran, M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D.
Research Assistant
Department of Language Technology
International Center for Free and Open Source Solutions (ICFOSS),Swatantra
Sports Hub, Karyavattom
Thiruvananthapuram - 695581
jibinkiranjk@gmail.com
Mob:7736351541

3. Rajeev R. R., M.Sc., M.Phil., and Ph.D.
Programme Head
Department of Language Technology
International Center for Free and Open-Source Solutions (ICFOSS), Swatantra
Sports Hub, Karyavattom
Thiruvananthapuram - 695581
rajeev@icfoss.in
Mob:9447280110

4. Archana S Krishnan, M.A.
Junior Language Editor
International Center for Free and Open-Source Solutions (ICFOSS), Swatantra
Sports Hub, Karyavattom, Thiruvananthapuram - 695581
archanaskrishnan00@gmail.com
Mob:7902851634

5. Navaneeth S., M.Tech.
Research Associate
International Center for Free and Open-Source Solutions (ICFOSS), Swatantra
Sports Hub, Karyavattom
Thiruvananthapuram - 695581
navaneethsreedharan@gmail.com
Mob:9497893166
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