Charles Yang

Charles Yang is a Professor of Linguistics and Computer Science at the University of Pennsylvania, where he also directs the Cognitive Science Program. His research integrates computational models with studies of language acquisition, processing, and evolution.

• Education:
  • Ph.D. in Computer Science, MIT, 2000

Yang's work spans language acquisition, computational linguistics, and the evolution of cognition. He has authored The Price of Linguistic Productivity (2016), which received the Leonard Bloomfield Award from the LSA. Recent publications focus on large language models as cognitive models, the Chinese aspectual system, and statistical approaches to linguistic patterns.

His 15 most recent articles (2025-2021) demonstrate a trajectory from computational models of language change to machine translation and multiword expression analysis. Yang has received significant funding from the National Science Foundation and the Guggenheim Foundation. He co-directs the Integrated Language Science and Technology group with John Trueswell and mentors students in linguistics, computer science, and psychology.