Skip to main content

Grammar Structure and the Dynamics of Language Evolution

  • Conference paper
  • 1902 Accesses

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNAI,volume 3630))

Abstract

The complexity, variation, and change of languages make evident the importance of representation and learning in the acquisition and evolution of language. For example, analytic studies of simple language in unstructured populations have shown complex dynamics, depending on the fidelity of language transmission. In this study we extend these analysis of evolutionary dynamics to include grammars inspired by the principles and parameters paradigm. In particular, the space of languages is structured so that some pairs of languages are more similar than others, and mutations tend to change languages to nearby variants. We found that coherence emerges with lower learning fidelity than predicted by earlier work with an unstructured language space.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. Chomsky, N.: Aspects of the Theory of Syntax. MIT Press, Cambridge (1965)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Chomsky, N.: Rules and Representations. Basil Blackwell, London (1980)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Crow, J.F., Kimura, M.: An Introduction to Population Genetics Theory. Harper & Row Publishers, New York (1970)

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  4. Eigen, M., McCaskill, J., Schuster, P.: The molecular quasi-species. Adv. Chem. Phys. 75, 149–263 (1989)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Eigen, M., Schuster, P.: The hypercycle: A principle of natural self-organization. Springer, Berlin (1979)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Fitch, W.T., Hauser, M.D., Chomsky, N.: The evolution of the language faculty: Clarifications and implications. Cognition (2005) (Forthcoming)

    Google Scholar 

  7. Hashimoto, T., Ikegami, T.: Evaluation of symbolic grammar systems. Springer, Berlin (1995)

    Google Scholar 

  8. Hashimoto, T., Ikegami, T.: Emergence of net-grammar in communicating agents. BioSystems 38, 1–14 (1996)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Hauser, M.D., Chomsky, N., Fitch, W.T.: The faculty of language: what it is, who has it, and how did it evolve? Science 298, 1569–1579 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Joseph, B.: Historical linguistics. In: Aronoff, M., Rees-Miller, J. (eds.) The Handbook of Linguistics. Blackwell, Oxford (2000)

    Google Scholar 

  11. Kirby, S.: Spontaneous evolution of linguistic structure: an iterated learning model of the emergence of regularity and irregularity. IEEE Transactions on Evolutionary Computation 5(2), 102–110 (2001)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  12. Komarova, N.L., Niyogi, P., Nowak, M.A.: Evolutionary dynamics of grammar acquisition. Journal of Theoretical Biology 209(1), 43–59 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Lamb, S.M., Mitchell, E.D.: Sprung from a Common Source: Investigations into the Prehistory of Languages. Stanford University Press, Stanford (1991)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Lee, Y., Collier, T.C., Stabler, E.P., Taylor, C.E.: The role of population structure in language evolution. In: The 10th International Conference on Artificial Life and Robotics, Beppu, Oita, Japan (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Niyogi, P.: The Computational Nature of Language Learning and Evolution. MIT Press, Cambridge (2003), http://people.cs.uchicago.edu/~niyogi/Book.html

    Google Scholar 

  16. Nowak, M.A., Komarova, N., Niyogi, P.: Computational and evolutionary aspects of language. Nature 417, 611–617 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Nowak, M.A., Komarova, N.L., Niyogi, P.: Evolution of universal grammar. Science 291, 114–118 (2001)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  18. Pinker, S.: The Language Instinct. Penguin, London (1994)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Pinker, S., Bloom, P.: Natural language and natural selection. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 13, 707–784 (1990)

    Google Scholar 

  20. Smith, K., Brighton, H., Kirby, S.: Complex systems in language evolution: the cultural emergence of compositional structure. Advances in Complex Systems 6(4), 537–558 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Staff: Endangered languages: Babel runs backwards. Economist 374(8407) (January 2005)

    Google Scholar 

  22. Steels, L.: Self-organizing vocabularies. In: Langton, C., Shimohara, T. (eds.) Artificial Life V, Nara, Japan, pp. 179–184 (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  23. Sutherland, W.J.: Parallel extinction risk and global distribution of languages and species. Nature 423, 276–279 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2005 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this paper

Cite this paper

Lee, Y., Collier, T.C., Kobele, G.M., Stabler, E.P., Taylor, C.E. (2005). Grammar Structure and the Dynamics of Language Evolution. In: Capcarrère, M.S., Freitas, A.A., Bentley, P.J., Johnson, C.G., Timmis, J. (eds) Advances in Artificial Life. ECAL 2005. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 3630. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/11553090_63

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/11553090_63

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-28848-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-31816-3

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics