Abstract
Scientific research has progressed through experimental, theoretical, computational, and data-intensive paradigms, and is currently advancing toward the fifth paradigm: artificial intelligence-driven scientific discovery. AI is not only an auxiliary tool but also a collaborator and inspirer in knowledge production. Language research, due to the unique nature of its object, is at the forefront of this transformation. The fifth paradigm of language research is essentially a systematic reconstruction of language research “human-machine collaborative generation mechanism.” In knowledge production, this manifests in four fundamental shifts: the cognitive subject is reconstructed from human researchers to a human-AI composite cognitive system; the generation mechanism shifts from an interpretative model to a generative mechanism; the production structure shifts from a linear process to a cyclical system; and the presentation form shifts from rule-based to distributed, parameterized probabilistic representations. In research practice, this transformation manifests in five key areas: the research object has expanded from human language to human-machine hybrid language; in terms of methodology, AI is not only the object of analysis but also a methodological tool for generating data, conducting simulations, and assisting in analysis; the research goal is not only to understand human language but also to construct language intelligent agents capable of generating, understanding, and interacting; the research subject has upgraded from individual scholars to human-machine collaboration; and the disciplinary structure has shifted from a single discipline to a multidisciplinary integration. This transformation brings significant opportunities for language research, such as a leap in research capabilities and room for theoretical innovation. However, it also brings profound challenges, including an interpretive crisis, weakening of theories, concentration of knowledge power, risks to the language ecosystem, and ethical issues. Faced with the systemic reconstruction of the fifth paradigm, language researchers should not merely be followers of methodology, but rather critics of technological governance and builders of language ethics, maintaining human initiative and upholding ultimate human rights.
Key words
fifth paradigm /
language research /
human-machine collaboration /
artificial intelligence /
knowledge production
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Wang Chunhui.
A Brief Discussion on the “Fifth Paradigm” of Language Research in the Age of Artificial Intelligence[J]. Chinese Journal of Language Policy and Planning. 2026, 11(3): 14-27 https://doi.org/10.19689/j.cnki.cn10-1361/h.20260301
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