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Code-switching (CS) is a common linguistic phenomenon exhibited by multilingual individuals, where they tend to alternate between languages within one single conversation. CS is a complex phenomenon that not only encompasses linguistic…
Language models (LMs) are pre-trained on raw text datasets to generate text sequences token-by-token. While this approach facilitates the learning of world knowledge and reasoning, it does not explicitly optimize for linguistic competence.…
This chapter critically examines the potential contributions of modern language models to theoretical linguistics. Despite their focus on engineering goals, these models' ability to acquire sophisticated linguistic knowledge from mere…
Machine learning techniques have conquered many different tasks in speech and natural language processing, such as speech recognition, information extraction, text and speech generation, and human machine interaction using natural language…
There is an increasing amount of evidence that in cases with little or no data in a target language, training on a different language can yield surprisingly good results. However, currently there are no established guidelines for choosing…
Humans' distinctive role in the world can largely be attributed to our capacity for iterated learning, a process by which knowledge is expanded and refined over generations. A range of theories seek to explain why humans are so adept at…
Are large language models (LLMs) sensitive to the distinction between humanly possible and impossible languages? This question was recently used in a broader debate on whether LLMs and humans share the same innate learning biases. Previous…
Language endangerment is a phenomenon in which approximately 40% of languages spoken worldwide are predicted to disappear within the next few decades, resulting in the loss of cultures associated with these languages. To take effective…
Because the performance of speech separation is excellent for speech in which two speakers completely overlap, research attention has been shifted to dealing with more realistic scenarios. However, domain mismatch between training/test…
Bifurcation analysis has many applications in different scientific fields, such as electronics, biology, ecology, and economics. In population biology, deterministic methods of bifurcation are commonly used. In contrast, stochastic…
Languages are shaped by the inductive biases of their users. Using a classical referential game, we investigate how artificial languages evolve when optimised for inductive biases in humans and large language models (LLMs) via Human-Human,…
Learning another language can be a highly emotional process, typically characterized by numerous frustrations and triumphs, big and small. For most learners, language learning does not follow a linear, predictable path, its zigzag course…
Large Language Models (LLMs) are increasingly integrated into critical decision-making processes, such as loan approvals and visa applications, where inherent biases can lead to discriminatory outcomes. In this paper, we examine the nuanced…
Understanding the impact of digital platforms on user behavior presents foundational challenges, including issues related to polarization, misinformation dynamics, and variation in news consumption. Comparative analyses across platforms and…
Scaling existing applications and solutions to multiple human languages has traditionally proven to be difficult, mainly due to the language-dependent nature of preprocessing and feature engineering techniques employed in traditional…
Our usage of language is not solely reliant on cognition but is arguably determined by myriad external factors leading to a global variability of linguistic patterns. This issue, which lies at the core of sociolinguistics and is backed by…
Humans adjust their linguistic style to the audience they are addressing. However, the extent to which LLMs adapt to different social contexts is largely unknown. As these models increasingly mediate human-to-human communication, their…
We study the time taken by a language learner to correctly identify the meaning of all words in a lexicon under conditions where many plausible meanings can be inferred whenever a word is uttered. We show that the most basic form of…
A new account of parameter setting during grammatical acquisition is presented in terms of Generalized Categorial Grammar embedded in a default inheritance hierarchy, providing a natural partial ordering on the setting of parameters.…
The distribution of human linguistic groups presents a number of interesting and non-trivial patterns. The distributions of the number of speakers per language and the area each group covers follow log-normal distributions, while population…