Les systèmes combinatoires animaux n’ont pas de double articulation: Hockett n’avait pas tort

La dualidad o doble articulación es una propiedad fundamental del lenguaje. Hace medio siglo, Charles Hockett comparó la comunicación animal y el lenguaje con su conocido sistema de rasgos de diseño, y sostuvo que la dualidad era uno de los pocos rasgos ausentes en la comunicación animal. Desde entonces, numerosos autores, en especial lingüistas, han atribuido esa propiedad a algunos sistemas comunicativos animales que muestran una naturaleza combinatoria, en los cuales las señales se forman mediante la unión de unidades menores. Este artículo analiza críticamente esas propuestas; en concreto, defiende que la naturaleza jerárquico- combinatoria de esos sistemas es muy diferente a la del lenguaje, por lo que carecen de dualidad. Por ello, el trabajo reivindica la posición de Hockett, sosteniendo que estaba plenamente acertado cuando defendía que la dualidad es un rasgo inexistente en la comunicación animal.Duality of patterning is a central property of language. Half a century ago, Charles Hockett compared animal communication and language by means of his well-known system of design features, and contended that duality was one of the few features animal communication was not endowed with. Since then, a number of scholars (especially, linguists), have considered duality to exist in some animal communication systems which exhibit a combinatorial nature, in such a way that signals are composed of smaller units. This article critically discusses those proposals; more concretely, it makes the point that the hierarchical-combinatorial procedure found in animal combinatorial systems greatly differs from that found in language, the result being that those systems lack duality. Therefore, the paper vindicates Hockett’s position, by arguing that he was fully right when he asserted that duality is absent from animal communicationLa double articulation est une qualité fondamentale du langage. Il y a un demi-siècle, Charles Hockett a comparé la communication animale et le langage avec son système de traits de dessin, et a soutenu que la dualité était l'une des quelques fonctionnalités manquantes dans la communication animale. Dès lors, de nombreux auteurs, notamment des linguistes, ont attribué cette qualité à certains systèmes de communication des animaux montrant une nature combinatoire, dans lesquels les signaux sont formés par l'assemblage d’unités mineures. Cet article analyse ces propositions de façon critique; en particulier, il soutient l’argument que la nature hiérarchique-combinatoire de ces systèmes diffère considérablement de celle du langage, ne possédant pas de double articulation. Par conséquent, ce travail justifie la position de Hockett, considérant qu’il avait tout à fait raison lorsqu’il soutenait que la double articulation est une caractéristique absente dans la communication animale

Synchronization in the presence of memory

We study the effect of memory on synchronization of identical chaotic systems driven by common external noises. Our examples show that while in general synchronization transition becomes more difficult to meet when memory range increases, for intermediate ranges the synchronization tendency of systems can be enhanced. Generally the synchronization transition is found to depend on the memory range and the ratio of noise strength to memory amplitude, which indicates on a possibility of optimizing synchronization by memory. We also point out on a close link between dynamics with memory and noise, and recently discovered synchronizing properties of networks with delayed interactions

Stability of Biaxial Nematic Phase for Systems with Variable Molecular Shape Anisotropy

We study the influence of fluctuations in molecular shape on the stability of the biaxial nematic phase by generalizing the mean field model of Mulder and Ruijgrok [Physica A {\bf 113}, 145 (1982)]. We limit ourselves to the case when the molecular shape anisotropy, represented by the alignment tensor, is a random variable of an annealed type. A prototype of such behavior can be found in lyotropic systems - a mixture of potassium laurate, 1-decanol, and $D_2O$, where distribution of the micellar shape adjusts to actual equilibrium conditions. Further examples of materials with the biaxial nematic phase, where molecular shape is subject to fluctuations, are thermotropic materials composed of flexible trimeric- or tetrapod-like molecular units. Our calculations show that the Gaussian equilibrium distribution of the variables describing molecular shape (dispersion force) anisotropy gives rise to new classes of the phase diagrams, absent in the original model. Depending on properties of the shape fluctuations, the stability of the biaxial nematic phase can be either enhanced or depressed, relative to the uniaxial nematic phases. In the former case the splitting of the Landau point into two triple points with a direct phase transition line from isotropic to biaxial phase is observed.Comment: 18 pages containing 6 figure

Self-Organization and Natural Selection: The Intelligent Auntie’s Vade-Mecum

This paper is aimed at clarifying one particular aspect of Derek Bickerton’s recent contribution to Biolinguistics (Bickerton 2014a), where he contends that biolinguists tend to emphasize the specifics of certain non-standard evolution

Evo-Devo — Of Course, But Which One? Some Comments on Chomsky’s Analogies between the Biolinguistic Approach and Evo-Devo

In some recent papers, Chomsky has suggested some non-trivial analogies between the biolinguistic approach and evolutionary developmental biology (Evo-Devo). In this paper, the point is made that those analogies should be handled with caution. The reason is that the Evo-Devo version chosen by Chomsky in order to build the analogies fully assumes a gene-centric perspective. Although providing genes with a special power fits in well with the Principles-and-Parameters model, it does not agree at all with the reduction of the power attributed to genes that the Minimalist Program has placed on the agenda. Nevertheless, other Evo-Devo approaches exist that seem more accurate than the particular version adopted by Chomsky — approaches therefore which are more promising for fulfilling the minimalist biolinguistic approach

Le attività di informazione scientifica: uno studio sull'efficacia divulgativa

In the last years the assessment of the science outreach activity has become a fundamental moment of the planning and realization of the activities of the Laboratorio of Didattica and Divulgazione Scientifica of Rome. On the occasion of the XVIII Edizione della Settimana della Cultura Scientifica e Tecnologica, we have established to experiment a new effectiveness science outreach assessment centred on two observation points: the users of the initiatives and the laboratory staff. From this model two different assessment tools derived: the Satisfaction Questionnaires, filled by users and the Technical Questionnaires, filled by the laboratory staff. This formulation has allowed us to get complex information on the whole science outreach process and has guaranteed a better impartiality in the assessment. The data collected offers some information on the key elements to achieve and to improve the effectiveness of outreach of a scientific initiative

Expressing Modality by Recycling Clitics

This paper tries to interpret the role of certain clitics attached to functional categories located over AgrS. They seem to be in charge of the expression of the modal orientation of the sentence. We show that while certain languages have elements specifically designed for this purpose, other languages resort to a recycling strategy which enables morphologically accusative clitics to do the job. In clear contrast with all these languages, Catalan is an example of a language in which modal clitics seem to be completely absent from the clitic paradigm.Aquest article vol oferir una explicació del comportament de determinats clítics relacionats amb categories funcionals superiors a SConc i encarregats de l'orientació modal de la frase. Mentre algunes llengües compten amb elements específicament dissenyats per a aquesta funció, altres llengües recorren a l'estratègia del reciclatge, la qual habilita els clítics d'acusatiu per a l'expressió de la modalitat. En contrast amb totes aquestes llengües, el catala és un exemple de llengua que no compta amb clítics de modalitat

Landau-deGennes Theory of Biaxial Nematics Re-examined

Recent experiments report that the long looked for thermotropic biaxial nematic phase has been finally detected in some thermotropic liquid crystalline systems. Inspired by these experimental observations we concentrate on some elementary theoretical issues concerned with the classical sixth-order Landau-deGennes free energy expansion in terms of the symmetric and traceless tensor order parameter $Q_{\alpha\beta}$. In particular, we fully explore the stability of the biaxial nematic phase giving analytical solutions for all distinct classes of the phase diagrams that theory allows. This includes diagrams with triple- and (tri-)critical points and with multiple (reentrant) biaxial- and uniaxial phase transitions. A brief comparison with predictions of existing molecular theories is also given.Comment: 12 pages, 14 figure