Bootstrapping a Runyankore CNL from an isiZulu CNL

Runyankore is one of the top five languages spoken in Uganda. It is a Bantu language, thus it possesses the characteristic agglutinative structure, which is known to be challenging for the development of computational resources. It is also computationally under-resourced, which compounds the problem further. Given the recent progress in the verbalization (the process of writing the semantics expressed in axioms as a CNL) of most constructors in the Description Logic ALC in isiZulu, we take a bootstrapping approach to the verbalization of similar constructors in Runyankore. The key variables affecting verbalization in isiZulu indeed also hold for Runyankore, allowing us to build on existing background theory. We present verbalization patterns for mostALC constructors, also covering the ‘hasX’ role naming. An evaluation of the generated text with 18 non-linguists found a clear preference for verbalization in the singular for subsumption (as with isiZulu), existential quantification, and negation in the context of subsumption; but the plural form of verb negation.