Work

Large language models are not about natural language

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Large Language Models are useless for linguistics, as they are probabilistic models that require a vast amount of data to analyze externalized strings of words. In contrast, human language is underpinned by a mind-internal computational system that recursively generates hierarchical thought structures. The language system grows with minimal external input and can readily distinguish between real language and impossible languages.

Source: Behavioral and Brain Sciences

DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x26104622

Authors: Johan J. Bolhuis, Andrea Moro, Stephen Crain, Sandiway Fong

Institutions: University of Cambridge, Scuola Normale Superiore, Macquarie University, University of Arizona

Language: English

Topic: Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation

Subfield: Language and Linguistics

Field: Arts and Humanities

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green

OpenAlex ID: W4417469589

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