Natural Syntax, Artificial Intelligence and Language Acquisition

Abstract

In recent work, various scholars have suggested that large language models can be construed as input-driven theories of language acquisition. In this paper, we propose a way to test this idea. As we will document, there is good reason to think that processing pressures override input at an early point in linguistic development, creating a temporary but sophisticated system of negation with no counterpart in caregiver speech. We go on to outline a (for now) thought experiment involving this phenomenon that could contribute to a deeper understanding both of human language and of the language models that seek to simulate it.