Modeling cultural evolution
-
Morten H. Christiansen
Abstract
Computational and mathematical modeling has revealed that cultural evolution may have played a key role in the evolution of language. In this chapter, I explore the hypothesis that processes of cultural transmission have to a large extent shaped language to fit domain-general constraints deriving from the human brain. An implication of this view is that much of the neural hardware involved in language is not specific to it. But how could language have evolved to be as complex as it is without language-specific constraints? Based on computational modeling of the cultural evolution of language, I propose that language has evolved to rely on a multitude of probabilistic information sources for its acquisition, allowing it to be as expressive as possible while still being learnable by domain-general learning mechanisms. Empirical predictions are derived from this perspective regarding the role of phonological cues in the learning of basic aspects of syntax. These predictions are corroborated by results from corpus analyses, computational modeling, and human experimentation, suggesting that the integration of phonological cues with other types of information is integral to the computational architecture of our language capacity. I conclude by considering how computational modeling of cultural evolution can help us understand the evolution of language.
Abstract
Computational and mathematical modeling has revealed that cultural evolution may have played a key role in the evolution of language. In this chapter, I explore the hypothesis that processes of cultural transmission have to a large extent shaped language to fit domain-general constraints deriving from the human brain. An implication of this view is that much of the neural hardware involved in language is not specific to it. But how could language have evolved to be as complex as it is without language-specific constraints? Based on computational modeling of the cultural evolution of language, I propose that language has evolved to rely on a multitude of probabilistic information sources for its acquisition, allowing it to be as expressive as possible while still being learnable by domain-general learning mechanisms. Empirical predictions are derived from this perspective regarding the role of phonological cues in the learning of basic aspects of syntax. These predictions are corroborated by results from corpus analyses, computational modeling, and human experimentation, suggesting that the integration of phonological cues with other types of information is integral to the computational architecture of our language capacity. I conclude by considering how computational modeling of cultural evolution can help us understand the evolution of language.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- Introduction ix
-
Part 1. General perspectives and issues on language origins
- Historical, Darwinian, and current perspectives on the origin(s) of language 3
- The origin of language as seen by eighteenth-century philosophy 31
- Cognitive and social aspects of language origins 53
-
Part 2. At the roots of language
- Reconstructed fossil vocal tracts and the production of speech 75
- Paleoanthropology and language 129
- Material culture and language 147
- Gestural theory of the origins of language 171
-
Part 3. Communication and language origins
- Primate communication 187
- FoxP2 and vocalization 211
- Brain lateralization and the emergence of language 237
- Sensorimotor constraints and the organization of sound patterns 257
- Symbol grounding and the origin of language 279
-
Part 4. Linguistic views on language origins
- Sound patterns and conceptual content of the first words 301
- Brave new words 333
- On the origin of Grammar 379
- Arbitrary signs and the emergence of language 407
- On the relevance of pidgins and creoles in the debate on the origins of language 441
-
Part 5. Computational modeling of language origins
- Modeling cultural evolution 487
- How language emerges in situated embodied interactions 505
- Emergence of communication and language in evolving robots 533
- Evolving a bridge from praxis to language 555
- Index 579
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- Introduction ix
-
Part 1. General perspectives and issues on language origins
- Historical, Darwinian, and current perspectives on the origin(s) of language 3
- The origin of language as seen by eighteenth-century philosophy 31
- Cognitive and social aspects of language origins 53
-
Part 2. At the roots of language
- Reconstructed fossil vocal tracts and the production of speech 75
- Paleoanthropology and language 129
- Material culture and language 147
- Gestural theory of the origins of language 171
-
Part 3. Communication and language origins
- Primate communication 187
- FoxP2 and vocalization 211
- Brain lateralization and the emergence of language 237
- Sensorimotor constraints and the organization of sound patterns 257
- Symbol grounding and the origin of language 279
-
Part 4. Linguistic views on language origins
- Sound patterns and conceptual content of the first words 301
- Brave new words 333
- On the origin of Grammar 379
- Arbitrary signs and the emergence of language 407
- On the relevance of pidgins and creoles in the debate on the origins of language 441
-
Part 5. Computational modeling of language origins
- Modeling cultural evolution 487
- How language emerges in situated embodied interactions 505
- Emergence of communication and language in evolving robots 533
- Evolving a bridge from praxis to language 555
- Index 579
