Martin A. Nowak, Joshua B. Plotkin, and Vincent A.A. Jansen. The evolution of syntactic communication. Nature, 404:495-498, 2000.  Home/Search   Document Not in Database   Summary   Related Articles   Check

....[1] Recently also mathematical models of the evolution of language, especially those of Martin Nowak et al. have received much attention (e.g. 6] These models are sometimes seen as a validation of the earlier verbal theories. Steven Pinker, e.g. writes in the accompanying news story of [7] that the paper shows the evolvability of [one of ] the most striking features of language , i.e. its compositionality. Although we appreciate the major contributions in these books and papers, we still observe many shortcomings in the proposed theories. Both the verbal and the mathematical ....

Martin A. Nowak, Joshua B. Plotkin, and Vincent A.A. Jansen. The evolution of syntactic communication. Nature, 404:495-498, 2000.

.... origins of language has been dominated by verbal theories, both in scienti c publications (see e.g. 9] and in popular, best selling books (e.g. 19, 7] Recently also mathematical models of the evolution of language, especially those of Martin Nowak et al. have received much attention (e.g. [16, 17, 15]) These models are sometimes seen as a validation of the earlier verbal theories. Steven Pinker, e.g. writes in the accompanying news story of [17] that the paper shows the evolvability of [one of ] the most striking features of language , i.e. its compositionality. Although we appreciate the ....

....Recently also mathematical models of the evolution of language, especially those of Martin Nowak et al. have received much attention (e.g. 16, 17, 15] These models are sometimes seen as a validation of the earlier verbal theories. Steven Pinker, e.g. writes in the accompanying news story of [17] that the paper shows the evolvability of [one of ] the most striking features of language , i.e. its compositionality. Although we appreciate the major contributions in these books and papers, we still observe many shortcomings in the proposed theories. Both the verbal Submitted to the ....

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Martin A. Nowak, Joshua B. Plotkin, and Vincent A.A. Jansen. The evolution of syntactic communication. Nature, 404:495-498, 2000.

.... human language be explained by examining the dynamics resulting from the cultural evolution of language Genetic transmission offers a mechanism for transmitting information down generations [6] and recourse to natural selection for explaining the evolution of language has received much attention [8, 7]. The assumption is that the core properties of language are specified by an innate language acquisition device. Recent advances in computational evolutionary linguistics suggest that cultural evolution, too, offers a candidate explanatory mechanism. Here, linguistic information is transmitted ....

....to holistic experiences. 2. A limited exposure to the range of signals for all pertinent meanings, yet the ability produce signals for a vast number of meanings. Nowak et al. offer a similar argument in their explanation of the evolution of syntactic communication through natural selection [7]. Our analysis strengthens the already compelling argument that syntax can also arise due to the adaptive pressures imposed by communication over many generations. Cultural evolution is a candidate mechanism for explaining the emergence of syntactic language. Central to this analysis is the ....

M. A. Nowak, J. B. Plotkin, and V. A. A. Jansen. The evolution of syntactic communication. Nature, 404, 2000.

.... Explanations of the human capacity for syntax have placed emphasis on two contrasting adaptive processes: Genetic adaptation of the genetically encoded human language acquisition device to support syntactic communication due to fitness advantages offered by syntactic communication (e.g. [4, 7]) Explanations of this kind appeal to a unique set of selection pressures favouring the evolution of syntax in humans to explain the uniqueness of language. Cultural adaptation of language in favour of compositionality, due to cultural selection resulting from language learner biases during ....

M. A. Nowak, J. B. Plotkin, and V. A. A. Jansen. The evolution of syntactic communication. Nature, 404:495--498, 2000.

.... Explanations of the human capacity for syntax have placed emphasis on two contrasting adaptive processes: Genetic adaptation of the genetically encoded human language acquisition device to support syntactic communication due to fitness advantages offered by syntactic communication (e.g. [5, 8]) If this is the key adaptive process, the uniqueness of language can be explained in terms of a unique set of selection pressures experienced by the ancestors of modern humans. Cultural adaptation of language in favour of compositionality, due to cultural selection resulting from language ....

M. A. Nowak, J. B. Plotkin, and V. A. A. Jansen. The evolution of syntactic communication. Nature, 404:495--498, 2000.

....even be seen within the monomorphemic lexicon, whose phonetic structure was previously thought to be arbitrarily related to meaning. Ultimately, these types of explanation typically derive features of the meaning string mapping from communicative pressures that in uenced our proto human ancestors [4]. This paper follows on from recent computational work that takes a di erent approach [5] 6] 7] 8] 9] 10] 11] 12] 13] Instead of concetrating on the biological evolution of an innate language faculty, this line of research places more explanatory emphasis on languages themselves ....

M. A. Nowak, J. B. Plotkin, and V. A. A. Jansen, \The evolution of syntactic communication," Nature, vol. 404, pp. 495-498, 2000.

....of the population, and its language dependent part is the grammatical coherence:itde nes the probability that a sentence said by one person is understood by another person. Equation (2) is similar to a quasi species equation (Eigen Schuster, 1979) but has frequency dependent tness values (Nowak, 2000). 3. Dynamics of a Fully Symmetric System In order to investigate system (2) we need to specify the matrices A and Q. Let us consider the simplest case where all a ## a, a constant, for all iOj, and a ## 1. We will refer to such a matrix as a fully symmetric A matrix. It corresponds to ....

NOWAK, M. A., PLOTKIN,J.B.&JANSEN, V. A. A. (2000). The evolution of syntactic communication. Nature 404, 495}498.

....in terms of survival probability or reproductive success. Individuals who communicate successfully leave more ospring (thus the factors f in equations (1) and (2) who in turn learn their language. This puts the problem of grammar acquisition in an evolutionary context (Nowak Krakauer 1999; Nowak et al. 1999, 2000). Finally, the quantity in equations (1) and (2) is the average tness of the population. It is the average probability that a sentence said by one person is understood by another person (or the grammatical coherence) weighted by the individuals reproductive rate: n j1 (r(b 1 )f (1) j x ....

Nowak, M. A., Plotkin, J. B. & Jansen, V. A. A. 2000 The evolution of syntactic communication. Nature 404, 495^498.

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