Natural Language Processing RELIES on Linguistics
Not on the map. Why?
Abstract (arXiv)
Large Language Models (LLMs) have become capable of generating highly fluent text in certain languages, without modules specially designed to capture grammar or semantic coherence. What does this mean for the future of linguistic expertise in NLP? We highlight several aspects in which NLP (still) relies on linguistics, or where linguistic thinking can illuminate new directions. We argue our case around the acronym RELIES that encapsulates six major facets where linguistics contributes to NLP: Resources, Evaluation, Low-resource settings, Interpretability, Explanation, and the Study of language. This list is not exhaustive, nor is linguistics the main point of reference for every effort under these themes; but at a macro level, these facets highlight the enduring importance of studying machine systems vis-`a-vis systems of human language.
Key facts. Cited by 9 papers in the map (data through 7 Oct 2026). Builds on 99 of its 297 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 9 May 2024.
Builds on
99 of 297 references.
References · 99
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38 more
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50 most cited of 99 All 99 (JSON)
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Citing papers per year: 2024: 2; 2025: 4; 2026: 3.
9 papers.
- 2025MultiBLiMP 1.0: A Massively Multilingual Benchmark of Linguistic Minimal Pairscited by 65
- 2025Pragmatics in the Era of Large Language Models: A Survey on Datasets, Evaluation, Opportunities and Challengescited by 31
- 2024Can LLMs Really Learn to Translate a Low-Resource Language from One Grammar Book?cited by 23
- 2025UD-English-CHILDES: A Collected Resource of Gold and Silver Universal Dependencies Trees for Child Language Interactionscited by 3
- 2024Learning from Impairment: Leveraging Insights from Clinical Linguistics in Language Modelling Researchcited by 1
- 2026Speaking of Language: Reflections on Metalanguage Research in NLPcited by 1
- 2025Using Machine Learning to Detect Fraudulent SMSs in Chichewacited by 0
- 2026Comparing Natural and Synthetic Structured Data: A Study of the Passive Verb Alternation in French and Italiancited by 0
- 2026Language as an Independent Information Layer: A Conceptual Model of Communication, Cognition and Decision-Makingcited by 0
- 2026Language as an Independent Information Layer: A Conceptual Model of Communication, Cognition and Decision-Making26 Sep 2026
- 2026Speaking of Language: Reflections on Metalanguage Research in NLP3 Apr 2026
- 2026Comparing Natural and Synthetic Structured Data: A Study of the Passive Verb Alternation in French and Italian26 Mar 2026
- 2025UD-English-CHILDES: A Collected Resource of Gold and Silver Universal Dependencies Trees for Child Language Interactions28 Apr 2025
- 2025MultiBLiMP 1.0: A Massively Multilingual Benchmark of Linguistic Minimal Pairs3 Apr 2025
- 2025Using Machine Learning to Detect Fraudulent SMSs in Chichewa24 Feb 2025
- 2025Pragmatics in the Era of Large Language Models: A Survey on Datasets, Evaluation, Opportunities and Challenges17 Feb 2025
- 2024Learning from Impairment: Leveraging Insights from Clinical Linguistics in Language Modelling Research20 Dec 2024
- 2024Can LLMs Really Learn to Translate a Low-Resource Language from One Grammar Book?27 Sep 2024