@inproceedings{huang-cheng-2026-measuring-symbolic,
title = "Measuring the Symbolic Power of Languages with {LLM}-based Multilingual Persuasion Simulation",
author = "Huang, Yin Jou and
Cheng, Fei",
editor = "Alves, Diego and
Bizzoni, Yuri and
Degaetano-Ortlieb, Stefania and
Kazantseva, Anna and
Pagel, Janis and
Szpakowicz, Stan",
booktitle = "Proceedings of the 10th Joint {SIGHUM} Workshop on Computational Linguistics for Cultural Heritage, Social Sciences, Humanities and Literature 2026",
month = mar,
year = "2026",
address = "Rabat, Morocco",
publisher = "Association for Computational Linguistics",
url = "https://aclanthology.org/2026.latechclfl-1.32/",
pages = "328--338",
ISBN = "979-8-89176-373-9",
abstract = "Prior studies on the symbolic power of languages have largely relied on surveys or localized experiments, limiting systematic comparison across cultures and domains. In this work, we propose an LLM-based multilingual persuasion simulation framework to quantify the symbolic power of languages through persuasion outcomes. We also introduce a Symbolic Power Index (SPI) that measures how language choice affects persuasion success and efficiency across domains. Experiments show that the LLM-based simulations largely reproduce established sociolinguistic prestige hierarchies tied to institutional authority and global power, especially in domains such as business, finance, education, and technology. These results suggest that LLM-based persuasion simulations offer a scalable, decision-making-driven approach to studying symbolic power in language."
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%0 Conference Proceedings
%T Measuring the Symbolic Power of Languages with LLM-based Multilingual Persuasion Simulation
%A Huang, Yin Jou
%A Cheng, Fei
%Y Alves, Diego
%Y Bizzoni, Yuri
%Y Degaetano-Ortlieb, Stefania
%Y Kazantseva, Anna
%Y Pagel, Janis
%Y Szpakowicz, Stan
%S Proceedings of the 10th Joint SIGHUM Workshop on Computational Linguistics for Cultural Heritage, Social Sciences, Humanities and Literature 2026
%D 2026
%8 March
%I Association for Computational Linguistics
%C Rabat, Morocco
%@ 979-8-89176-373-9
%F huang-cheng-2026-measuring-symbolic
%X Prior studies on the symbolic power of languages have largely relied on surveys or localized experiments, limiting systematic comparison across cultures and domains. In this work, we propose an LLM-based multilingual persuasion simulation framework to quantify the symbolic power of languages through persuasion outcomes. We also introduce a Symbolic Power Index (SPI) that measures how language choice affects persuasion success and efficiency across domains. Experiments show that the LLM-based simulations largely reproduce established sociolinguistic prestige hierarchies tied to institutional authority and global power, especially in domains such as business, finance, education, and technology. These results suggest that LLM-based persuasion simulations offer a scalable, decision-making-driven approach to studying symbolic power in language.
%U https://aclanthology.org/2026.latechclfl-1.32/
%P 328-338
Markdown (Informal)
[Measuring the Symbolic Power of Languages with LLM-based Multilingual Persuasion Simulation](https://aclanthology.org/2026.latechclfl-1.32/) (Huang & Cheng, LaTeCH-CLfL 2026)
ACL