M. Oliphant. Rethinking the language bottleneck: Why don't animals learn to communicate? presented at 2nd International Conference on the Evolution of Language, 1998.  Home/Search   Document Not in Database   Summary   Related Articles   Check

....in the Evolution of Learned Symbolic Communication Kenny Smith Language Evolution and Computation Research Unit, Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, The University of Edinburgh, Adam Ferguson Building, 40 George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9LL kenny ling.ed.ac.uk Abstract. Oliphant [5, 6] contends that language is the only naturally occurring, learned symbolic communication system, because only humans can accurately observe meaning during the cultural transmission of communication. This paper outlines several objections to Oliphant s argument. In particular, it is argued that ....

....language learner biases during cultural transmission of communication (e.g. 1, 3] Such models are not primarily concerned with the origin of the language learner s biases but appeal to a uniquely human preexisting mental capacity to explain the uniqueness of language. Recent work by Oliphant [5, 6], building on pioneering work by Hurford [2] focuses on the more basic issue of the emergence of arbitrary and conventionalised word meaning. Oliphant works within the cultural adaptation framework and makes two claims. Firstly, human language is the only learned symbolic communication system. ....

M. Oliphant. Rethinking the language bottleneck: Why don't animals learn to communicate? presented at 2nd International Conference on the Evolution of Language, 1998.

....in the evolution of learned symbolic communication Kenny Smith Language Evolution and Computation Research Unit, Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, The University of Edinburgh, Adam Ferguson Building, 40 George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9LL kenny ling.ed.ac.uk Abstract. Oliphant [6, 7] contends that language is the only naturallyoccurring, learned symbolic communication system, because only humans can accurately observe meaning during the cultural transmission of communication. This paper outlines several objections to Oliphant s argument. In particular, it is argued that ....

....underwent the mutation or set of mutations which equipped them with the necessary mental apparatus, or only the unique set of circumstances experienced by our ancestors resulted in selection for the mental apparatus required for the cultural evolution of language to begin. Recent work by Oliphant [6, 7], building on pioneering work by Hurford [2] focuses on the more basic issue of the emergence of arbitrary and conventionalised word meaning (see [4] for an alternative approach to a similar issue) Oliphant works within the cultural adaptation framework and makes two claims. Firstly, human ....

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M. Oliphant. Rethinking the language bottleneck: Why don't animals learn to communicate ? presented at 2nd International Conference on the Evolution of Language, 1998.

....of, typically phonetic, gestures) It is also extremely unusual in the way it is learnt. Each generation acquires at least some of the meaning form mapping by observing the use of the previous generation s mapping. It has been argued that this type of learning of mappings is also unique to humans (Oliphant, 1998). In this paper I will explore, using a working model of linguistic transmission, the links between these two features of language. In particular, I aim to explain the origins of syntax in language by looking at general properties of the transmission of learned behaviour. The explanation put ....

Oliphant, M. (1998). Rethinking the language bottleneck: Why don't animals learn to communicate? In C. Knight, J. Hurford, and M. Studdert-Kennedy (Eds.), The Emergence of Language. To appear.

....purely observational learning paradigm is used. In this framework, no reinforcement signal is used. The communicative behavior of a learning individual is based solely on observations of the behavior of others. The model of observational learning I use is similar to that used by Hurford (1989) and Oliphant and Batali (1997). I assume that the life of an individual proceeds in two stages: a learning stage and a behaving stage. During the learning stage, an individual observes the behavior of the other individuals in the population, and uses these observations to construct its own communication system. After learning, ....

Oliphant, M. (in press). Rethinking the language bottleneck: Why don't animals learn to communicate? In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on the Evolution of Language, London. Oliphant, M. and J. Batali (1997). Learning and the emergence of coordinated communication.

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Oliphant, M., Rethinking the language bottleneck: Why don't animals learn to communicate?, in Knight et al. (eds.), Proceedings of the Second International Conference on the Evolution of Language, London, April 1998.

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Michael Oliphant. Rethinking the language bottleneck: Why don't animals learn to communicate? In K. Dautenhahn and C. L. Nehaniv, editors, Imitation in Animals and Artifacts. MIT Press, to appear. Charles S. Peirce. Collected Papers, Volume 2: Elements of Logic. Harvard, 1995.

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