scholarly journals The origins of duality of patterning in artificial whistled languages

2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 357-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tessa Verhoef
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Transmission ◽  
Cognitive Biases ◽  
Combinatorial Structure ◽  
Basic Design ◽  
Human Language ◽  
Design Features ◽  
Finite Set ◽  
Iterated Learning ◽  
Duality Of Patterning

AbstractIn human speech, a finite set of basic sounds is combined into a (potentially) unlimited set of well-formed morphemes. Hockett (1960) placed this phenomenon under the term ‘duality of patterning’ and included it as one of the basic design features of human language. Of the thirteen basic design features Hockett proposed, duality of patterning is the least studied and it is still unclear how it evolved in language. Recent work shedding light on this is summarized in this paper and experimental data is presented. This data shows that combinatorial structure can emerge in an artificial whistled language through cultural transmission as an adaptation to human cognitive biases and learning. In this work the method of experimental iterated learning (Kirby et al. 2008) is used, in which a participant is trained on the reproductions of the utterances the previous participant learned. Participants learn and recall a system of sounds that are produced with a slide whistle. Transmission from participant to participant causes the whistle systems to change and become more learnable and more structured. These findings follow from qualitative observations, quantitative measures and a follow-up experiment that tests how well participants can learn the emerged whistled languages by generalizing from a few examples.

scholarly journals The emergence of duality of patterning through iterated learning: Precursors to phonology in a visual lexicon

2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 381-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Del Giudice
Keyword(s):  
Design Feature ◽  
Combinatorial Structure ◽  
Human Language ◽  
Lexical Structure ◽  
Small Stock ◽  
Iterated Learning ◽  
Human Participants ◽  
Duality Of Patterning ◽  
Future Work ◽  
Infinite Set

AbstractDuality of Patterning, one of Hockett's (1960) proposed design features unique to human language, refers in part to the arrangements of a relatively small stock of distinguishable meaningless sounds which are combined to create a potentially infinite set of morphemes. Literature regarding the emergence of this design feature is less abundant than that exploring other levels of structure as focus is more often given to the emergence of syntax. In an effort to explore where combinatorial structure of meaningless elements arises the results of two pilot experiments are presented within which we observe human participants modifying a small lexicon of visual symbols through a process of iterated learning. As this lexicon evolves there is evidence that it becomes simpler and more learnable, more easily transmitted. I argue that these features are a consequence of spontaneous emergence of combinatorial, sub-lexical structure in the lexicon, that the pattern of emergence is more complex than the most widely espoused explanation suggests, and I propose ways in which future work can build on what we learn from these pilot experiments to confirm this hypothesis.

scholarly journals Iconicity and Structure in the Emergence of Combinatoriality

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Hofer ◽  
Roger Philip Levy
Keyword(s):  
Language Evolution ◽  
Virtual Slide ◽  
Design Feature ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Developmental Trajectory ◽  
Combinatorial Structure ◽  
Human Language ◽  
Finite Set ◽  
Iterated Learning ◽  
Combinatorial System

One design feature of human language is its combinatorial phonology, allowing it to form an unbounded set of meaningful utterances from a finite set of building blocks. Recent experiments suggest how this feature can evolve culturally when continuous signals are repeatedly transmitted between generations. Because the building blocks of a combinatorial system lack independent meaning, combinatorial structure appears to be in conflict with iconicity, another property salient in language evolution. To investigate the developmental trajectory of iconicity during the evolution of combinatoriality, we conducted an iterated learning experiment where participants learned auditory signals produced using a virtual slide whistle. We find that iconicity emerges rapidly but is gradually lost over generations as combinatorial structure continues to increase. This suggests that iconicity biases, whose presence was revealed in a signal guessing experiment, manifest in nuanced ways. We discuss implications of these findings for different ideas about how biases for iconicity and combinatoriality interact in language evolution.

What is duality of patterning, anyway?

2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 261-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Robert Ladd
Keyword(s):  
Communication Systems ◽  
Short Paper ◽  
Human Language ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Design Features ◽  
Duality Of Patterning

AbstractThe notion of duality of patterning (henceforth DoP), at least for readers of this special issue, is probably most closely associated with Charles F. Hockett's project of identifying the ‘design features’ of language in order to characterise the ways in which human language is unique among biological communication systems (Hockett 1958: chapter 64; Hockett 1960; Hockett and Ascher 1964). Roughly speaking, DoP refers to the fact that the meaningful units of language – words or morphemes – are made up of meaningless units – phonemes or features – whose only function is to distinguish the meaningful units from one another. Stated this way, the idea seems quite straightforward, and to have it explicitly stated as a property of language seems a useful insight. In fact, though, of all the design features discussed by Hockett, DoP seems to have engendered the most confusion. The idea that meaningful units are composed of meaningless ones seems simple enough, but many complications arise when we look more closely. The goal of this short paper is to document some of the complications and perhaps alleviate some of the confusion.

LANGUAGE DYNAMICS IN STRUCTURED FORM AND MEANING SPACES

2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (03n04) ◽  
pp. 1150021 ◽  
Author(s):  
BART DE BOER ◽  
TESSA VERHOEF
Keyword(s):  
Complex Form ◽  
Combinatorial Structure ◽  
Human Language ◽  
Functional Constraints ◽  
Cognitive Constraints ◽  
Learning Experiment ◽  
Fundamental Properties ◽  
Previous Generation ◽  
Relative Contribution ◽  
Iterated Learning

This paper reviews how the structure of form and meaning spaces influences the nature and the dynamics of the form-meaning mappings in language. In general, in a structured form or meaning space, not all forms and meanings are equivalent: some forms and some meanings are more easily confused with each other than with other forms or meanings. We first give a formalization of this idea, and explore how it influences robust form-meaning mappings. It is shown that some fundamental properties of human language, such as discreteness and combinatorial structure as well as universals of sound systems of human languages follow from optimal communication in structured form and meaning spaces. We also argue that some properties of human language follow less from these fundamental issues, and more from cognitive constraints. We then show that it is possible to experimentally investigate the relative contribution of functional constraints and of cognitive constraints. We illustrate this with an example of one of our own experiments, in which experimental participants have to learn a set of complex form-meaning mappings that have been produced by a previous generation of participants. Theoretically predicted properties appear in the sets of signals that emerge in this iterated learning experiment.

scholarly journals Why Are No Animal Communication Systems Simple Languages?

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D. Beecher
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Cultural Transmission ◽  
Communication Systems ◽  
Animal Communication ◽  
Bird Song ◽  
Necessary Condition ◽  
Human Language ◽  
Design Features ◽  
Simple Language ◽  
High Level

Individuals of some animal species have been taught simple versions of human language despite their natural communication systems failing to rise to the level of a simple language. How is it, then, that some animals can master a version of language, yet none of them deploy this capacity in their own communication system? I first examine the key design features that are often used to evaluate language-like properties of natural animal communication systems. I then consider one candidate animal system, bird song, because it has several of the key design features or their precursors, including social learning and cultural transmission of their vocal signals. I conclude that although bird song communication is nuanced and complex, and has the acoustic potential for productivity, it is not productive – it cannot be used to say many different things. Finally, I discuss the debate over whether animal communication should be viewed as a cooperative information transmission process, as we typically view human language, or as a competitive process where signaler and receiver vie for control. The debate points to a necessary condition for the evolution of a simple language that has generally been overlooked: the degree of to which the interests of the signaler and receiver align. While strong cognitive and signal production mechanisms are necessary pre-adaptations for a simple language, they are not sufficient. Also necessary is the existence of identical or near-identical interests of signaler and receiver and a socio-ecology that requires high-level cooperation across a range of contexts. In the case of our hominid ancestors, these contexts included hunting, gathering, child care and, perhaps, warfare. I argue that the key condition for the evolution of human language was the extreme interdependency that existed among unrelated individuals in the hunter-gatherer societies of our hominid ancestors. This extreme interdependency produced multiple prosocial adaptations for effective intragroup cooperation, which in partnership with advanced cognitive abilities, set the stage for the evolution of language.

Curious Beginnings

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Mazur
Keyword(s):  
Historical Event ◽  
Mathematical Notation ◽  
Human Language ◽  
Mathematical Writing ◽  
Finite Set ◽  
And Algebra ◽  
Simple Equations ◽  
Infinite Set

This chapter traces the beginnings of mathematical notation. For tens of thousands of years, humans had been leaving signification marks in their surroundings, gouges on trees, footprints in hard mud, scratches in skin, and even pigments on rocks. A simple mark can represent a thought, indicate a plan, or record a historical event. Yet the most significant thing about human language and writing is that speakers and writers can produce a virtually infinite set of sounds, declarations, notions, and ideas from a finite set of marks and characters. The chapter discusses the emergence of the alphabet, counting, and mathematical writing. It also considers the discovery of traces of Sumerian number writing on clay tablets in caves from Europe to Asia, the use of Egyptian hieroglyphics, and algebra problems in the Rhind (or Ahmes) papyrus that presented simple equations without any symbols other than those used to indicate numbers.

scholarly journals Compositional Hierarchical Structure Evolves through Cultural Transmission: An Experimental Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen Saldana ◽  
Simon Kirby ◽  
Robert Truswell ◽  
Kenny Smith
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Hierarchical Structure ◽  
Cultural Transmission ◽  
Artificial Language ◽  
Compositional Structure ◽  
Evolutionary Linguistics ◽  
Artificial Language Learning ◽  
Learning Techniques ◽  
Iterated Learning

AbstractCompositional hierarchical structure is a prerequisite for productive languages; it allows language learners to express and understand an infinity of meanings from finite sources (i.e., a lexicon and a grammar). Understanding how such structure evolved is central to evolutionary linguistics. Previous work combining artificial language learning and iterated learning techniques has shown how basic compositional structure can evolve from the trade-off between learnability and expressivity pressures at play in language transmission. In the present study we show, across two experiments, how the same mechanisms involved in the evolution of basic compositionality can also lead to the evolution of compositional hierarchical structure. We thus provide experimental evidence showing that cultural transmission allows advantages of compositional hierarchical structure in language learning and use to permeate language as a system of behaviour.

Self-Directed Education—Unschooling and Democratic Schooling

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Gray
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Transmission ◽  
History Education ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Human History ◽  
Democratic Schools ◽  
Democratic Schooling ◽  
The World ◽  
Follow Up Studies ◽  
New Generation

Education, broadly defined, is cultural transmission. It is the process or set of processes by which each new generation of human beings acquires and builds upon the skills, knowledge, beliefs, values, and lore of the culture into which they are born. Through all but the most recent speck of human history, education was always the responsibility of those being educated. Children come into the world biologically prepared to educate themselves through observing the culture around them and incorporating what they see into their play. Research in hunter-gatherer cultures shows that children in those cultures became educated through their own self-directed exploration and play. In modern cultures, self-directed education is pursued by children in families that adopt the homeschooling approach commonly called “unschooling” and by children enrolled in democratic schools, where they are in charge of their own education. Follow-up studies of “graduates” of unschooling and democratic schooling reveal that this approach to education can be highly effective, in today’s word, if children are provided with an adequate environment for self-education—an environment in which they can interact freely with others across a broad range of ages, can experience first-hand what is most valued in the culture, and can play with, and thereby experiment with, the primary tools of the culture.

Impossible Languages

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Moro
Keyword(s):  
Neural Networks ◽  
Laws Of Nature ◽  
The Other ◽  
Human Language ◽  
Finite Set ◽  
The One ◽  
Physical Laws ◽  
Flow Of Information ◽  
Novel Structures

Understanding the nature and the structure of human language coincides with capturing the constraints which make a conceivable language possible or, equivalently, with discovering whether there can be any impossible languages at all. This book explores these related issues, paralleling the effort of a biologist who attempts at describing the class of impossible animals. In biology, one can appeal for example to physical laws of nature (such as entropy or gravity) but when it comes to language the path becomes intricate and difficult for the physical laws cannot be exploited. In linguistics, in fact, there are two distinct empirical domains to explore: on the one hand, the formal domain of syntax, where different languages are compared trying to understand how much they can differ; on the other, the neurobiological domain, where the flow of information through the complex neural networks and the electric code exploited by neurons is uncovered and measured. By referring to the most advanced experiments in Neurolinguistics the book in fact offers an updated descriptions of modern linguistics and allows the reader to formulate new and surprising questions. Moreover, since syntax - the capacity to generate novel structures (sentences) by recombining a finite set of elements (words) - is the fingerprint of all and only human languages this books ultimately deals with the fundamental questions which characterize the search for our origins.

Misattributing speech and jumping to conclusions: A longitudinal study in people at high risk of psychosis

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.T. Winton-Brown ◽  
M.R. Broome ◽  
P. Allen ◽  
I. Valli ◽  
O. Howes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Psychotic Disorder ◽  
Symptom Severity ◽  
Cognitive Biases ◽  
Psychotic Symptoms ◽  
Self Monitoring ◽  
Level Of Functioning ◽  
Jumping To Conclusions ◽  
Over Time ◽  
At Risk Mental State

AbstractBiases in cognition such as Jumping to Conclusions (JTC) and Verbal Self-Monitoring (VSM) are thought to underlie the formation of psychotic symptoms. This prospective study in people with an At Risk Mental State (ARMS) for psychosis examined how these cognitive biases changed over time, and predicted clinical and functional outcomes. Twenty-three participants were assessed at clinical presentation and a mean of 31 months later. Performance on a JTC and VSM tasks were measured at both time points. Relationships to symptom severity, level of function and the incidence of psychotic disorder were then examined. The levels of symptoms, function and VSM all improved over time, while JTC was stable. Five participants (22%) developed a psychotic disorder during the follow-up period, but the risk of transition was not related to performance on either task at baseline, or to longitudinal changes in task performance. JTC performance correlated with symptom severity at baseline and follow-up. Similarly, performance on the two tasks was not related to the level of functioning at follow-up. Thus, while the ARMS is associated with both VSM and JTC biases, neither predict the onset of psychosis or the overall functional outcome.

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