arXiv Computation and Language
Sep 24

Wisdom in Unity: The Role of Multilingual Training in Figurative Language Identification in Proverbs

The study investigates how multilingual training affects figurative language identification in proverbs, using 742 proverb concepts translated into seven languages. Five models—including multilingual encoders and instruction‑tuned LLMs—were evaluated with varying levels of multilingual supervision, and a new multidimensional annotation framework was introduced to classify proverbs into metaphorical, moral/advisory, cause‑effect, and culture‑specific forms. Results show that adding multilingual data beyond 50% yields limited gains, but the best supervision level depends on the model and language; combining diverse figurative forms improves overall performance, especially for the least frequent culture‑specific form.

By Rama Alomair, Remas Alsubaie, Walaa Saifalislam, Rima Alsonbul, Mona Alnajjar, Razan Aldossari, Haya Alibrahim, Abeer Aldayel
arXiv AI
Aug 6

Easy to Complete, Hard to Choose: Investigating LLM Performance on the ProverbIT Benchmark

arXiv:2608. 04670v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Large Language Models (LLMs) have transformed computational linguistics and achieved remarkable performance across numerous natural language processing tasks, yet significant gaps persist in understanding how these systems process culturally embedded linguistic expressions.

By Enrico Mensa, Lorenzo Zane, Calogero Jerik Scozzaro, Matteo Delsanto, Tommaso Milani, Daniele Paolo Radicioni
arXiv AI
Jun 2

Multilingual Idioms in Sentences and Conversations Across High-, Medium-, and Low-Resource Languages

arXiv:2606. 02147v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Idiomatic expressions pose a major challenge for multilingual NLP because their meanings shift between figurative and literal usage, often requiring context for accurate interpretation.

By Saeed Almheiri, Bilal Elbouardi, Salsabila Zahirah Pranida, Irina Nikishina, Ashwath Rao B, Parameswari Krishnamurthy, Muhammad Cendekia Airlangga, Rifo Ahmad Genadi, Nguyen Phan Gia Bao, Amir Hossein Yari, Hawau Olamide Toyin, Nurdaulet Mukhituly, Mena Attia, Besher Hassan, Ahmad Fathan Hidayatullah, Tatsuki Kuribayashi, Haonan Li, Suma Bhat, Fajri Koto