480 research outputs found
Conceptual similarity and communicative need shape colexification:An experimental study
Colexification refers to the phenomenon of multiple meanings sharing one word
in a language. Cross-linguistic lexification patterns have been shown to be
largely predictable, as similar concepts are often colexified. We test a recent
claim that, beyond this general tendency, communicative needs play an important
role in shaping colexification patterns. We approach this question by means of
a series of human experiments, using an artificial language communication game
paradigm. Our results across four experiments match the previous
cross-linguistic findings: all other things being equal, speakers do prefer to
colexify similar concepts. However, we also find evidence supporting the
communicative need hypothesis: when faced with a frequent need to distinguish
similar pairs of meanings, speakers adjust their colexification preferences to
maintain communicative efficiency, and avoid colexifying those similar meanings
which need to be distinguished in communication. This research provides further
evidence to support the argument that languages are shaped by the needs and
preferences of their speakers
Compression and communication in the cultural evolution of linguistic structure
Language exhibits striking systematic structure. Words are composed of combinations of reusable sounds, and those words in turn are combined to form complex sentences. These properties make language unique among natural communication systems and enable our species to convey an open-ended set of messages. We provide a cultural evolutionary account of the origins of this structure. We show, using simulations of rational learners and laboratory experiments, that structure arises from a trade-off between pressures for compressibility (imposed during learning) and expressivity (imposed during communication). We further demonstrate that the relative strength of these two pressures can be varied in different social contexts, leading to novel predictions about the emergence of structured behaviour in the wild
Evaluating the role of quantitative modeling in language evolution
Models are a flourishing and indispensable area of research in language evolution. Here we highlight critical issues in using and interpreting models, and suggest viable approaches. First, contrasting models can explain the same data and similar modelling techniques can lead to diverging conclusions. This should act as a reminder to use the extreme malleability of modelling parsimoniously when interpreting results. Second, quantitative techniques similar to those used in modelling language evolution have proven themselves inadequate in other disciplines. Cross-disciplinary fertilization is crucial to avoid mistakes which have previously occurred in other areas. Finally, experimental validation is necessary both to sharpen models' hypotheses, and to support their conclusions. Our belief is that models should be interpreted as quantitative demonstrations of logical possibilities, rather than as direct sources of evidence. Only an integration of theoretical principles, quantitative proofs and empirical validation can allow research in the evolution of language to progress
Culture and biology in the origins of linguistic structure
Language is systematically structured at all levels of description, arguably setting it apart from all other instances of communication in nature. In this article, I survey work over the last 20 years that emphasises the contributions of individual learning, cultural transmission, and biological evolution to explaining the structural design features of language. These 3 complex adaptive systems exist in a network of interactions: individual learning biases shape the dynamics of cultural evolution; universal features of linguistic structure arise from this cultural process and form the ultimate linguistic phenotype; the nature of this phenotype affects the fitness landscape for the biological evolution of the language faculty; and in turn this determines individuals’ learning bias. Using a combination of computational simulation, laboratory experiments, and comparison with real-world cases of language emergence, I show that linguistic structure emerges as a natural outcome of cultural evolution once certain minimal biological requirements are in place
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