Professor Robert Frank of Yale University will deliver the 2026 Freeman Lecture in Linguistics on April 14, titled “What Can Computers Teach Us About Human Language Learning and What Can Humans Teach Us About Computer Language Learning?” Presented by the Department of Linguistics in the College of Humanities and Fine Arts, Professor Frank's talk will take place from 4-5:30PM in the Integrative Learning Center, S240.

Professor Frank is a renowned expert in both computational linguistics and syntax. As part of Yale University’s Computational Linguistics at Yale (CLAY) Lab, his research focuses on the relationships between natural language grammar and notions of mathematical and computational restrictiveness, especially in the domain of syntax. In addition to his groundbreaking work on the Tree Adjoining Grammar (TAG) framework, Professor Frank has also for many years explored the capacity of neural network models to correctly learn subtle properties of syntax (e.g., anaphora and displacement), as well as whether such models can overcome classical arguments from the ‘poverty of the stimulus’.

The Freeman Lecture, held annually at UMass Amherst, is named in honor of the founding head of the linguistics department, Donald C. Freeman, and his wife Margaret Freeman. The talks are designed for a broad, cross-disciplinary audience of students and faculty across campus.

More information about Professor Frank and his lecture can be found on the Department of Linguistics website.