The Language Model as a mathematical model of the lexicogrammar in Cognitive Linguistics

Description

Traditionally the mathematical modelling of grammar in Linguistics has relied on formal languages. For example, a Phrase Structure Grammar conceptualises grammar as a collection of terminal words combined through a set of rules. While this model is effective at high levels of abstraction, it presents some problems when trying to account for some real-world linguistic phenomena. To address these limitations, Cognitive Linguistics and Usage-Based Frameworks suggest that grammar exists on a continuum that begins with the lexicon, the lexicogrammar. This theoretical proposal, however, lacks a formal mathematical framework comparable to formal languages for Phrase Structure Grammars. In this presentation, I will argue that a Language Model, as a mathematical object, can serve as this formal framework for the lexicogrammar as proposed in Cognitive Linguistics. I will present indirect empirical evidence supporting this claim from an authorship verification study employing a method called LambdaG, which is inspired by this model.

Period	8 Oct 2025
Held at	The University of Sheffield, United Kingdom