Towards a Biologically-Plausible Computational Model of Human Language Cognition

Hilton Alers-Valentín, Sandiway Fong

2024

Abstract

The biolinguistics approach aims to construct a coherent and biologically plausible model/theory of human language as a computational system coded in the brain that for each individual recursively generates an infinite array of hierarchically structured expressions interpreted at the interfaces for thought and externalization. Language is a recent development in human evolution, is acquired reflexively from impoverished data, and shares common properties through the species in spite of individual diversity. Universal Grammar, a genuine explanation of language, must meet these apparently contradictory requirements. The Strong Minimalist Thesis (SMT) proposes that all phenomena of language have a principled account rooted in efficient computation, which makes language a perfect solution to interface conditions. LLMs, albeit their remarkable performance, cannot achieve the explanatory adequacy necessary for a language competence model. We im-plemented a computer model assuming these challenges, only using language-specific operations, relations, and procedures satisfying SMT. As a plausible model of human language, the implementation can put to test cutting-edge syntactic theory within the generative enterprise. Successful derivations obtained through the model signal the feasibility of the minimalist framework, shed light on specific proposals on the processing of structural ambiguity, and help to explore fundamental questions about the nature of the Workspace.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Alers-Valentín H. and Fong S. (2024). Towards a Biologically-Plausible Computational Model of Human Language Cognition. In Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Agents and Artificial Intelligence - Volume 3: ICAART; ISBN 978-989-758-680-4, SciTePress, pages 1108-1118. DOI: 10.5220/0012436400003636

in Bibtex Style

@conference{icaart24,
author={Hilton Alers-Valentín and Sandiway Fong},
title={Towards a Biologically-Plausible Computational Model of Human Language Cognition},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Agents and Artificial Intelligence - Volume 3: ICAART},
year={2024},
pages={1108-1118},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0012436400003636},
isbn={978-989-758-680-4},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Agents and Artificial Intelligence - Volume 3: ICAART
TI - Towards a Biologically-Plausible Computational Model of Human Language Cognition
SN - 978-989-758-680-4
AU - Alers-Valentín H.
AU - Fong S.
PY - 2024
SP - 1108
EP - 1118
DO - 10.5220/0012436400003636
PB - SciTePress