Demi Zhang
2024
Modeling Bilingual Sentence Processing: Evaluating RNN and Transformer Architectures for Cross-Language Structural Priming
Demi Zhang
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Bushi Xiao
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Chao Gao
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Sangpil Youm
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Bonnie J Dorr
Proceedings of the Fourth Workshop on Multilingual Representation Learning (MRL 2024)
This study evaluates the performance of Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) and Transformer models in replicating cross-language structural priming, a key indicator of abstract grammatical representations in human language processing. Focusing on Chinese-English priming, which involves two typologically distinct languages, we examine how these models handle the robust phenomenon of structural priming, where exposure to a particular sentence structure increases the likelihood of selecting a similar structure subsequently. Our findings indicate that transformers outperform RNNs in generating primed sentence structures, with accuracy rates that exceed 25.84% to 33. 33%. This challenges the conventional belief that human sentence processing primarily involves recurrent and immediate processing and suggests a role for cue-based retrieval mechanisms. This work contributes to our understanding of how computational models may reflect human cognitive processes across diverse language families.