The Formal Complexity of Natural Language Grammars Revisited: Perspectives from Neural Networks
Channel: International Community on Grammatical Inference
Date: 2021-08-26

Pr. Robert Frank (Yale University) - Tutorial at the 15th International Conference on Grammatical Inference (ICGI 2020/21: https://icgi2020.lis-lab.fr/)

Abstract: Chomsky (1957) initiated a research program seeking to identify a restricted class of formal grammars rich enough to characterize natural language. This program was motivated by learning — a restricted class of grammars limits the learner’s search space, potentially making learning easier) — as well as the desire to provide a formal account of linguistic universals — why languages pattern in some ways and not others. After reviewing where this program stands in light of the last 60 years of work, I will explore how it connects with current work on the representation of grammars in neural networks. I will discuss a number of interesting connections and divergences, and also describe topics that remain open and ripe for future work

Robert Frank is Professor of Linguistics at Yale University. He received his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania (Computer and Information Science) and has taught at Johns Hopkins University (Cognitive Science) and the University of Delaware (Linguistics). His research explores models of language learning and processing and the role of computationally constrained grammar formalisms, especially Tree Adjoining Grammar, in linguistic explanation.