Models of language evolution and change

Citation

Smith ADM (2014) Models of language evolution and change. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science, 5 (3), pp. 281-293. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcs.1285

Abstract
In the absence of direct evidence of the emergence of language, the explicitness of formal models which allow the exploration of interactions between multiple complex adaptive systems has proven to be an important tool. Computational simulations have been at the heart of the field of evolutionary linguistics for the past two decades, particularly through the language game and iterated learning paradigms, but these are now being extended and complemented in a number of directions, through formal mathematical models, language-ready robotic agents, and experimental simulations in the laboratory.

Keywords
language evolution; formal models; cultural evolution; iterated learning; language games; complex adaptive systems;

Journal
Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science: Volume 5, Issue 3

People

Dr Andrew Smith

Lecturer - Language Studies, English Studies