The Hierarchical Organization of Syntax

Adaptive Systems ◽

Language Evolution ◽

Zipf’S Law ◽

Zipf's Law ◽

Syntactic Structures ◽

Complex Adaptive

Abstract Hierarchies are the backbones of complex systems and their analysis allows for a deeper understanding of their structure and how they evolve. We consider languages to be also complex adaptive systems. Hence, we analyzed the hierarchical organization of historical syntactic networks from German that were created from a corpus of texts from the 11th to 17th centuries. We tracked the emergence of syntactic structures in these networks and mapped them to specific communicative needs. We named these emerging structures communicative hierarchies. We hypothesise that the communicative needs of speakers are the organizational force of syntax. We propose that the emergence of these multiple communicative hierarchies is what shapes syntax, and that these hierarchies are the prerequisite to the Zipf's law. The emergence of communicative hierarchies indicates that the objective of language evolution is not only to increase the efficiency of transferring information. Language is also evolving to increase our capacity to communicate more sophisticated abstractions as we advance as a species.

1. Complex systems

10.1093/actrade/9780199662548.003.0001 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

John H. Holland

Keyword(s):

Complex Systems ◽

Adaptive Systems ◽

Tropical Rainforest ◽

Self Organization ◽

Physical Systems ◽

Complex Adaptive ◽

Distinctive Property ◽

Adaptive Interaction

What is complexity? A complex system, such as a tropical rainforest, is a tangled web of interactions and exhibits a distinctive property called ‘emergence’, roughly described by ‘the action of the whole is more than the sum of the actions of the parts’. This chapter explains that the interactions of interest are non-linear and thus hierarchical organization is closely tied to emergence. Complex systems explains several kinds of telltale behaviour: emergent behaviour, self-organization, chaotic behaviour, ‘fat-tailed behaviour’, and adaptive interaction. The field of complexity studies has split into two subfields that examine two different kinds of emergence: complex physical systems and complex adaptive systems.

Complex Adaptive Systems Thinking Approach to Enterprise Architecture

Web Design and Development ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-8619-9.ch017 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 339-389

Author(s):

Marc Rabaey

Keyword(s):

Complex Systems ◽

Systems Thinking ◽

Adaptive Systems ◽

Enterprise Architecture ◽

Time Dynamic ◽

Complex Adaptive ◽

Unstable Environment ◽

Systems Thinking Approach ◽

High Degree

Complex systems interact with an environment where a high degree of uncertainty exists. To reduce uncertainty, enterprises (should) create intelligence. This chapter shows that intelligence has two purposes: first, to increase and to assess (thus to correct) existing knowledge, and second, to support decision making by reducing uncertainty. The chapter discusses complex adaptive systems. Enterprises are not only complex systems; they are also most of the time dynamic because they have to adapt their goals, means, and structure to survive in the fast evolving (and thus unstable) environment. Crucial for enterprises is to know the context/ecology in which they act and operate. The Cynefin framework makes the organization and/or its parts aware of the possible contexts of the organization and/or its parts: simple, complicated, complex, chaotic, or disordered. It is crucial for the success of implementing and using EA that EA is adapted to function in an environment of perpetual change. To realize this, the chapter proposes and elaborates a new concept of EA, namely Complex Adaptive Systems Thinking – Enterprise Architecture (CAST-EA).

Modularity and Complex Adaptive Systems

Intelligent Complex Adaptive Systems ◽

10.4018/978-1-59904-717-1.ch003 ◽

2008 ◽

pp. 75-104

Author(s):

David Cornforth ◽

David G. Green

Keyword(s):

Fault Tolerance ◽

Complex Systems ◽

Long Range ◽

Adaptive Systems ◽

Single Unit ◽

Phase Changes ◽

Critical Phase ◽

Complex Adaptive ◽

Different Levels

Modularity is ubiquitous in complex adaptive systems. Modules are clusters of components that interact with their environment as a single unit. They provide the most widespread means of coping with complexity, in both natural and artificial systems. When modules occur at several different levels, they form a hierarchy. The effects of modules and hierarchies can be understood using network theory, which makes predictions about certain properties of systems such as the effects of critical phase changes in connectivity. Modular and hierarchic structures simplify complex systems by reducing long-range connections, thus constraining groups of components to act as a single component. In both plants and animals, the organisation of development includes modules, such as branches and organs. In artificial systems, modularity is used to simplify design, provide fault tolerance, and solve difficult problems by decomposition.

4. Agents, networks, degree, and recirculation

10.1093/actrade/9780199662548.003.0004 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

John H. Holland

Keyword(s):

Signal Processing ◽

Adaptive Systems ◽

Look Ahead ◽

Large Numbers ◽

Action Sequences ◽

Complex Adaptive ◽

Performance Capability ◽

Different Levels

‘Agents, networks, degree, and recirculation’ explains that when studying complex adaptive systems (CAS) in a grammar-like way, agents serve as the ‘alphabet’. The hierarchical organization of CAS implies different kinds of agents at different levels, with correspondingly different grammars. The interactions of signal-processing agents at a point in time can be specified by a network—a snapshot of the agents’ performance capability. The combination of high fanout (the richness of an agent’s interactions) and hierarchical organization results in complex networks that include large numbers of sequences that form loops. More complex loops allow the CAS to ‘look ahead’, examining the effects of various action sequences without actually executing the actions.

7. Co-evolution and the formation of niches

10.1093/actrade/9780199662548.003.0007 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

John H. Holland

Keyword(s):

Adaptive Systems ◽

Mathematical Theory ◽

Building Blocks ◽

Interaction Networks ◽

Short Answer ◽

Complex Adaptive ◽

Multiple Species ◽

Local Use

What is a niche? ‘Co-evolution and the formation of niches’ explains that the term ‘niche’ is widely used to describe an important part of the hierarchical organization of complex adaptive systems: local use of signals and resources. Using Markov processes, a mathematical theory of niches can be formed that allows for multiple species with interaction networks that involve loops and recirculation. When realistic niches are considered, the diversity of the niche dwellers stands out. We see a complicated recirculation of resources and signals. How did this complex network of interactions evolve? The short answer is co-evolution through recombination of building blocks, often accompanied by an exaggeration of some of the resulting characteristics.

Language change and language evolution: Cousins, siblings, twins?

Glottotheory ◽

10.1515/glot-2020-2003 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Stefan Hartmann

Keyword(s):

Adaptive Systems ◽

Language Change ◽

Historical Linguistics ◽

Language Evolution ◽

Integrated Approach ◽

Complex Adaptive ◽

Research Questions ◽

The Relationship ◽

Cross Fertilization

AbstractThe relationship between “language change” and “language evolution” has recently become subject to some debate regarding the scope of both concepts. It has been claimed that while the latter used to refer to the language origins in the first place, both terms can now, to a certain extent, be used synonymously. In this paper, I argue that this can partly be explained by parallel developments both in historical linguistics and in the field of language evolution research that have led to a considerable amount of convergence between both fields. Both have adopted usage-based approaches and data-driven methods, which entails similar research questions and similar perspectives on the phenomena under investigation. This has ramifications for current models and theories of language change (or evolution). Two approaches in particular, the concept of complex adaptive systems and construction grammar, have been combined in integrated approaches that seek to explain both language emergence and language change over historical time. I discuss the potential and limitations of this integrated approach, and I argue that there is still some unexplored potential for cross-fertilization.

Complex Systems and Complex Adaptive Systems

Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research ◽

10.1007/978-3-319-69909-7_104659-1 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-3

Author(s):

Leonardo Salvatore Alaimo

Keyword(s):

Complex Systems ◽

Adaptive Systems ◽

Complex Adaptive

COMPLEX SYSTEMS IN LANGUAGE EVOLUTION: THE CULTURAL EMERGENCE OF COMPOSITIONAL STRUCTURE

Advances in Complex Systems ◽

10.1142/s0219525903001055 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 06 (04) ◽

pp. 537-558 ◽

Cited By ~ 63

Author(s):

KENNY SMITH ◽

HENRY BRIGHTON ◽

SIMON KIRBY

Keyword(s):

Language Learners ◽

Cultural Evolution ◽

Cultural Transmission ◽

Adaptive Systems ◽

Language Evolution ◽

Biological Evolution ◽

Compositional Structure ◽

Complex Adaptive ◽

Iterated Learning

Language arises from the interaction of three complex adaptive systems — biological evolution, learning, and culture. We focus here on cultural evolution, and present an Iterated Learning Model of the emergence of compositionality, a fundamental structural property of language. Our main result is to show that the poverty of the stimulus available to language learners leads to a pressure for linguistic structure. When there is a bottleneck on cultural transmission, only a language which is generalizable from sparse input data is stable. Language itself evolves on a cultural time-scale, and compositionality is language's adaptation to stimulus poverty.

The World is More Than Complicated

Mechanical Engineering ◽

10.1115/1.2011-nov-1 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 133 (11) ◽

pp. 30-35

Author(s):

Ahmed K. Noor

Keyword(s):

Complex Systems ◽

Adaptive Systems ◽

Emergent Behavior ◽

Global Response ◽

Emergent Complexity ◽

Engineering Designs ◽

Complex Adaptive ◽

Engineered Systems ◽

The Individual

This article discusses the need of complex systems to be adaptive, and various innovative technologies that are required to engineer these systems. Complex adaptive systems consist of several simultaneously interacting parts or components, which are expected to function in an uncertain, complex environment, and to adapt to unforeseeable contingencies. The defining characteristics of complex adaptive systems are that the components are continually changing, the systems involve many interactions among components, and configurations cannot be fully determined in advance. Studies have shown that complex systems of the future will require a multidisciplinary framework—an approach that has been called emergent (complexity) engineering. Emergent engineering designs a system from the bottom-up by designing the individual components and their interactions that can lead to a desired global response. Although significant effort has been devoted to understanding complexity in natural and engineered systems, the research into complex adaptive systems is fragmented and is largely focused on specific examples. In order to accelerate the development of future diverse complex systems, there is a profound need for developing the new multidisciplinary framework of emergent engineering, along with associated systematic approaches, and generally valid methods and tools for high-fidelity simulations of the collective emergent behavior of these systems.

The complexity continuum, part 2: modelling harmony

Kybernetes ◽

10.1108/k-06-2018-0338 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 48 (8) ◽

pp. 1626-1652 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Maurice Yolles

Keyword(s):

Complex Systems ◽

Agency Theory ◽

Adaptive Systems ◽

Critical Realism ◽

Philosophical Perspective ◽

Content Type ◽

Viable Systems ◽

Complex Adaptive ◽

Viable System

PurposeComplex systems adapt to survive, but little comparative literature exists on various approaches. Adaptive complex systems are generic, this referring to propositions concerning their bounded instability, adaptability and viability. Two classes of adaptive complex system theories exist: hard and soft. Hard complexity theories include Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) and Viability Theory, and softer theories, which we refer to as Viable Systems Theories (VSTs), that includes Management Cybernetics at one extreme and Humanism at the other. This paper has a dual purpose distributed across two parts. In part 1 the purpose was to identify the conditions for the complementarity of the two classes of theory. In part 2 the two the purpose is to explore (in part using Agency Theory) the two classes of theory and their proposed complexity continuum.Design/methodology/approachExplanation is provided for the anticipation of behaviour cross-disciplinary fields of theory dealing with adaptive complex systems. A comparative exploration of the theories is undertaken to elicit concepts relevant to a complexity continuum. These explain how agency behaviour can be anticipated under uncertainty. Also included is a philosophical exploration of the complexity continuum, expressing it in terms of a graduated set of philosophical positions that are differentiated in terms of objects and subjects. These are then related to hard and softer theories in the continuum. Agency theory is then introduced as a framework able to comparatively connect the theories on this continuum, from theories of complexity to viable system theories, and how harmony theories can develop.FindingsAnticipation is explained in terms of an agency’s meso-space occupied by a regulatory framework, and it is shown that hard and softer theory are equivalent in this. From a philosophical perspective, the hard-soft continuum is definable in terms of objectivity and subjectivity, but there are equivalences to the external and internal worlds of an agency. A fifth philosophical position of critical realism is shown to be representative of harmony theory in which internal and external worlds can be related. Agency theory is also shown to be able to operate as a harmony paradigm, as it can explore external behaviour of an agent using a hard theory perspective together with an agent’s internal cultural and cognitive-affect causes.Originality/valueThere are very few comparative explorations of the relationship between hard and soft approaches in the field of complexity and even fewer that draw in the notion of harmony. There is also little pragmatic illustration of a harmony paradigm in action within the context of complexity.