Empirical Investigations of Generative Ai in Expetrimental Linguistics The Estimation of Word Metrics

Experimental linguistics requires accurate word metrics since word processing is influenced by frequency, familiarity, imageability, and concreteness. Obtaining accurate metrics, however, can be challenging due to the time-consuming and costly nature of data collection, making word metric values unavailable for many languages. Although metrics exist for some Indo-European languages such as English, it is not practical or even possible to carry out a study to estimate word metrics for all possible words in a language. Recent developments in Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) offer a viable solution to this problem, as these models can estimate word metrics for different languages and contexts. Nevertheless, the accuracy of these estimates should be investigated thoroughly, as unreliable estimates can lead to misinterpretations of how people process language. Using an experimental approach, this book investigates whether GenAI can provide accurate estimates for word frequency, fa...