GELL-MANN, MURRAY. 1992. Complexity and complex adaptive systems. In The Evolution of Human Languages, ed. by J.A. Hawkins & M. Gell-Mann. Addison-Wesley.  Home/Search   Document Not in Database   Summary   Related Articles   Check

.... The kind of evolution we will be looking at is not biological, but relies on a notion that languages themselves act as complex adaptive systems (Hurford this volume; Worden this volume; Briscoe this volume; Kirby 1998a; Kirby 1997b; Christiansen 1994; Deacon 1997; Kirby 1997a; Briscoe 1997; GellMann 1992). The particular feature of syntax that will be explored in this light and one which subsumes many of Pinker and Bloom s list is compositionality. Cann (1993:4) gives the following definition of the principle of compositionality, a universal of human language: The meaning of an ....

GELL-MANN, MURRAY. 1992. Complexity and complex adaptive systems. In The Evolution of Human Languages, ed. by J.A. Hawkins & M. Gell-Mann. Addison-Wesley.

....function. Although there are a number of crucial differences, the theory that links function and form in language proposed here has much in common with neo Darwinian selection theory (see Nettle in this volume) Indeed, both areas have their generalised form in a theory of complex adaptive systems (Gell Mann 1992; x2.2.3) It will be instructive, therefore, to look at a couple of cases of mismatches between form and function in biological evolution discussed by Gould (1983:147 165) 4.1.1 The non occurrence of a form Imagine you are an engineer attempting to design some mechanism for moving a machine ....

GELL-MANN, MURRAY. 1992. Complexity and complex adaptive systems. In The Evolution of Human Languages, ed. by J.A. Hawkins & M. Gell-Mann. Addison-Wesley.

.... be looking at is not biological, but relies on a notion of languages as complex adaptive systems just as the Pinker and Bloom explanation relies on the notion of the language faculty as a complex adaptive system (Kirby 1998; Kirby 1997b; Christiansen 1994; Deacon 1997; Kirby 1997a; Briscoe 1997; Gell Mann 1992). The particular feature of syntax that will be explored in this light and one which subsumes many of Pinker and Bloom s list is compositionality. Cann (1993:4) gives the follow SIMON KIRBY 3 ing definition of the principle of compositionality, a universal of human language: The ....

....that the probability of a acquiring a particular rule given a random sample of meanings increases with the generality of that rule. The success of I languages which contain general rules seems secure. The picture that emerges, then, is of the language of the population acting as an adaptive system (Gell Mann 1992; Kirby 1998; Kirby 1997a) in its own right. Initially, the rules are minimally general, each pairing one string with one meaning. At some point, a chance invention or random noise will lead a learner to go beyond the data in making a generalisation that the previous generation had not made. ....

GELL-MANN, MURRAY. 1992. Complexity and complex adaptive systems. In The Evolution of Human Languages, ed. by J.A. Hawkins & M. Gell-Mann. Addison-Wesley.

....on a theory of linguistic selection. Such a theory is set out in more detail elsewhere (e.g. Kirby 1996a, Kirby 1996c, Kirby 1994) but a sketch of its main components will be given here. Selection takes place whenever there is differential replication of information through a dynamic system. Gell Mann s (1992) treatment of complex adaptive systems treats the objects over which selection is made as schemata. In his view, schemata unfold in the environment to produce effects or behaviour which have consequences for the viability of the schema in terms of survival to a later generation. There is ....

GELL-MANN, MURRAY. 1992. Complexity and complex adaptive systems. In The Evolution of Human Languages, ed. by J.A. Hawkins & M. Gell-Mann. Addison-Wesley.

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