Encoder vs Decoder: Comparative Analysis of Encoder and Decoder Language Models on Multilingual NLU Tasks

Fuente: arXiv
Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Hauptverfasser: Nielsen, Dan Saattrup, Enevoldsen, Kenneth, Schneider-Kamp, Peter
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2024
Schlagworte:
Online-Zugang:
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
_version_ 1866916561984421888
author Nielsen, Dan Saattrup
Enevoldsen, Kenneth
Schneider-Kamp, Peter
author_facet Nielsen, Dan Saattrup
Enevoldsen, Kenneth
Schneider-Kamp, Peter
contents This paper explores the performance of encoder and decoder language models on multilingual Natural Language Understanding (NLU) tasks, with a broad focus on Germanic languages. Building upon the ScandEval benchmark, initially restricted to evaluating encoder models, we extend the evaluation framework to include decoder models. We introduce a method for evaluating decoder models on NLU tasks and apply it to the languages Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, German, Dutch, and English. Through a series of experiments and analyses, we also address research questions regarding the comparative performance of encoder and decoder models, the impact of NLU task types, and the variation across language resources. Our findings reveal that encoder models can achieve significantly better NLU performance than decoder models despite having orders of magnitude fewer parameters. Additionally, we investigate the correlation between decoders and task performance via a UMAP analysis, shedding light on the unique capabilities of decoder and encoder models. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of language model paradigms in NLU tasks and provides valuable insights for model selection and evaluation in multilingual settings.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2406_13469
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Encoder vs Decoder: Comparative Analysis of Encoder and Decoder Language Models on Multilingual NLU Tasks
Nielsen, Dan Saattrup
Enevoldsen, Kenneth
Schneider-Kamp, Peter
Computation and Language
Artificial Intelligence
Machine Learning
I.2.7
This paper explores the performance of encoder and decoder language models on multilingual Natural Language Understanding (NLU) tasks, with a broad focus on Germanic languages. Building upon the ScandEval benchmark, initially restricted to evaluating encoder models, we extend the evaluation framework to include decoder models. We introduce a method for evaluating decoder models on NLU tasks and apply it to the languages Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, German, Dutch, and English. Through a series of experiments and analyses, we also address research questions regarding the comparative performance of encoder and decoder models, the impact of NLU task types, and the variation across language resources. Our findings reveal that encoder models can achieve significantly better NLU performance than decoder models despite having orders of magnitude fewer parameters. Additionally, we investigate the correlation between decoders and task performance via a UMAP analysis, shedding light on the unique capabilities of decoder and encoder models. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of language model paradigms in NLU tasks and provides valuable insights for model selection and evaluation in multilingual settings.
title Encoder vs Decoder: Comparative Analysis of Encoder and Decoder Language Models on Multilingual NLU Tasks
topic Computation and Language
Artificial Intelligence
Machine Learning
I.2.7
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.13469