Linguistics and English Language

Language evolution seminar

Speaker: Laura de Rooij (University of Edinburgh)

Title: Cultural transmission in an iterated learning task: the effect of animated motion on language structure

Abstract: Research by Kirby, Cornish, & Smith (2008) has demonstrated that compositional structure can evolve in the laboratory over repeated transmission in an iterated learning paradigm. Reanalysis of their data by Beckner, Pierrehumbert, & Hay (2017) indicates that the semantic dimension motion lead the way in the development of compositional structure. Beckner et al. suggested this be evidence for a cognitive bias involving particular attention to motion. However, motion in Kirby et al. was represented abstractly with arrows, which therefore may have been interpreted as part of the shape, rather than actual (animated) movement. The current study investigates the emergence of compositional structure for the semantic dimensions shape, color, and animated motion, encompassing seven chains in two experiment versions. We found that not motion exerted most influence on novel language creation, but that the shape dimension did. That is, structured mappings between meanings and forms developed more strongly for shape than for color or motion. Implications of these results will be discussed.

Contact

Seminars are organised by the Centre for Language Evolution

Andres Karjus

Centre for Language Evolution

Jun 26 2018 -

Language evolution seminar

2018-06-26: Cultural transmission in an iterated learning task: the effect of animated motion on language structure

Room 1.20, Dugald Stewart Building, 3 Charles Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9AD