Translation Indeterminacy and the Distributional Fallacy
Large language models (LLMs) are commonly associated with the distributional hypothesis, according to which (1) semantic meaning is grounded in distributional patterns of linguistic context, and (2) knowledge of cross-linguistic distributional correspondences allows for successful translation. This paper rejects the first claim as a causal inversion: linguistic distributions reflect patterns arising from meaning-making practices rather than constituting their source. At the same time, it accepts the second claim, arguing that translation -human or machine - can succeed without requiring access to meaning or reference. Knowledge of interlingual distributional correspondence and their infer...
| Authors | Michael Carl |
|---|---|
| Primary category | cs.CL |
| Published | 7 September 2026 |
| Last updated at source | 7 September 2026 |
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