The Role of Linguistics in the Era of LLMs: With an Emphasis on the Pronoun "We"
Speaker: Chongwon Park, professor of linguistics, Department of English, Linguistics, and Writing Studies, University of Minnesota Duluth
This talk explores how large language models (LLMs) and linguistic expertise can work together to analyze contextually dependent language patterns. By focusing on the pronoun we in the Korean War Armistice Negotiation documents, we examine its strategic use for persuasion and boundary-setting by both the UN and North Korean delegations. Using machine learning alongside traditional linguistic analysis, this research classifies the contextual usage of we with minimal human labeling, achieving an accuracy of 73.9%. The discussion will highlight the critical role of linguistics in ensuring that LLMs accurately interpret nuanced language use. Attendees will gain insight into how computational methods and linguistic theory intersect to enhance language classification and understanding in real-world applications.
No RSVP is required. We encourage students, researchers, and professionals interested in linguistics, computational linguistics, computer science, and AI to attend.