Evolution of Language. Continuity and Discontinuity through Models and Empirical Data

Thirty authors of different disciplines, ranging from cognitive science and linguistics to mathematics and physics, address the topic of language origin and evolution. Language dynamics is investigated through an interdisciplinary effort, involving field and synthetic experiments, modelling and comparison of the theoretical predictions with empirical data. The result consists in new insights that significantly contribute to the ongoing debate on the origin and the evolution of language. In this Topical Issue the state of the art of this novel and fertile approach is reported by major experts of the field.

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Frequency of Verbal Forms and Language Standard

Journal of History Culture and Art Research ◽

10.7596/taksad.v6i5.1250 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 6 (5) ◽

pp. 90

Author(s):

Timur I. Galeev ◽

Elena V. Habibulina

Keyword(s):

Information Extraction ◽

Empirical Data ◽

Cognitive Structure ◽

Word Form ◽

Evolution Of Language ◽

Complex Information ◽

Verb Forms ◽

Google Books ◽

Linguistic Evolution ◽

Norm Change

The article offers the description of a modern experiment, which gives the possibility of complex information extraction about the cognitive structure of the linguistic evolution of Language Standart (Norm). The study was conducted using the Google Books Corpus, which provides unprecedented opportunities for linguistic studies. The purpose of the experiment was to identify the patterns of competing forms evolution within the center of the verbal paradigm (3Sg and 3Pl) on the basis of the data concerning the frequency of their use. The study was conducted on the material of excess verb forms with the variability of a/o vowels in a root (обусловливать/обуславливать). The graphs for variable word form competition clearly illustrate that the process of norm change consists of stages, each of which has numerical characteristics of two competing word form use. The chronological frameworks for an inflectional model change are established with the accuracy of up to 10 years. The graphs obtained as the result of the experiment make it possible to conclude that almost half of the verbs were not variative, although they previously considered. During the discussion of the obtained empirical data, a conclusion is made about the morphemic structure of a word, in which a root vowel changes. Possessing the information about similar processes in other verb paradigms, researchers are able to predict a possible change of inflectional models in the future and, as a consequence, the fixing of a new norm in lexicographical, orthographic and orthoepic sources.

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The dynamics of norm change in the cultural evolution of language

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1721059115 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 115 (33) ◽

pp. 8260-8265 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Roberta Amato ◽

Lucas Lacasa ◽

Albert Díaz-Guilera ◽

Andrea Baronchelli

Keyword(s):

Cultural Evolution ◽

Collective Behavior ◽

Empirical Data ◽

Behavioral Change ◽

Evolutionary Model ◽

Social Convention ◽

Evolution Of Language ◽

Lexical Norms ◽

Long Time ◽

Norm Change

What happens when a new social convention replaces an old one? While the possible forces favoring norm change—such as institutions or committed activists—have been identified for a long time, little is known about how a population adopts a new convention, due to the difficulties of finding representative data. Here, we address this issue by looking at changes that occurred to 2,541 orthographic and lexical norms in English and Spanish through the analysis of a large corpora of books published between the years 1800 and 2008. We detect three markedly distinct patterns in the data, depending on whether the behavioral change results from the action of a formal institution, an informal authority, or a spontaneous process of unregulated evolution. We propose a simple evolutionary model able to capture all of the observed behaviors, and we show that it reproduces quantitatively the empirical data. This work identifies general mechanisms of norm change, and we anticipate that it will be of interest to researchers investigating the cultural evolution of language and, more broadly, human collective behavior.

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Ideophones and the Evolution of Language

10.1017/9781107706897 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

John Haiman

Keyword(s):

Evolution Of Language

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An empirical review of gambling expansion and gambling-related harm

SUCHT - Zeitschrift für Wissenschaft und Praxis / Journal of Addiction Research and Practice ◽

10.1024/0939-5911/a000563 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 64 (5-6) ◽

pp. 295-306 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Debi A. LaPlante ◽

Heather M. Gray ◽

Pat M. Williams ◽

Sarah E. Nelson

Keyword(s):

Literature Review ◽

Peer Review ◽

Empirical Data ◽

Empirical Studies ◽

Expansion Method ◽

Responsible Gambling ◽

Review Literature ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Empirical Comparison ◽

Related Harm

Abstract. Aims: To discuss and review the latest research related to gambling expansion. Method: We completed a literature review and empirical comparison of peer reviewed findings related to gambling expansion and subsequent gambling-related changes among the population. Results: Although gambling expansion is associated with changes in gambling and gambling-related problems, empirical studies suggest that these effects are mixed and the available literature is limited. For example, the peer review literature suggests that most post-expansion gambling outcomes (i. e., 22 of 34 possible expansion outcomes; 64.7 %) indicate no observable change or a decrease in gambling outcomes, and a minority (i. e., 12 of 34 possible expansion outcomes; 35.3 %) indicate an increase in gambling outcomes. Conclusions: Empirical data related to gambling expansion suggests that its effects are more complex than frequently considered; however, evidence-based intervention might help prepare jurisdictions to deal with potential consequences. Jurisdictions can develop and evaluate responsible gambling programs to try to mitigate the impacts of expanded gambling.

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Under- and Over-Estimation

Experimental Psychology (formerly Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Psychologie) ◽

10.1027/1618-3169/a000064 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 58 (1) ◽

pp. 39-49 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

Virginie Crollen ◽

Julie Castronovo ◽

Xavier Seron

Keyword(s):

Empirical Data ◽

Accurate Estimation ◽

Numerical Estimation ◽

Production Task ◽

Estimation Task ◽

Reproduction Task ◽

Perception Task ◽

Adult Participants ◽

Mapping Hypothesis ◽

Task Perception

Over the last 30 years, numerical estimation has been largely studied. Recently, Castronovo and Seron (2007) proposed the bi-directional mapping hypothesis in order to account for the finding that dependent on the type of estimation task (perception vs. production of numerosities), reverse patterns of performance are found (i.e., under- and over-estimation, respectively). Here, we further investigated this hypothesis by submitting adult participants to three types of numerical estimation task: (1) a perception task, in which participants had to estimate the numerosity of a non-symbolic collection; (2) a production task, in which participants had to approximately produce the numerosity of a symbolic numerical input; and (3) a reproduction task, in which participants had to reproduce the numerosity of a non-symbolic numerical input. Our results gave further support to the finding that different patterns of performance are found according to the type of estimation task: (1) under-estimation in the perception task; (2) over-estimation in the production task; and (3) accurate estimation in the reproduction task. Moreover, correlation analyses revealed that the more a participant under-estimated in the perception task, the more he/she over-estimated in the production task. We discussed these empirical data by showing how they can be accounted by the bi-directional mapping hypothesis ( Castronovo & Seron, 2007 ).

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