Iterated Learning: A Framework for the Emergence of Language

Iterated learning model을 제안한 논문. 자극의 빈곤을 역이용하여, 자극이 부족하기 때문에 인간 언어의 핵심적인 특징인 조합가능성이 문화적으로 획득된다고 주장.

Abstract

Language is culturally transmitted. Iterated learning, the process by which the output of one individual’s learning becomes the input to other individuals’ learning, provides a framework for investigating the cultural evolution of linguistic structure. We present two models, based upon the iterated learning framework, which show that the poverty of the stimulus available to language learners leads to the emergence of linguistic structure. Compositionality is language’s adaptation to stimulus poverty.

doi.org/10.1162/106454603322694825

Quotes

• “When there is a bottleneck on cultural transmission, highly compositional systems are frequent.”
• “Highly compositional systems are more frequent when the environment is structured.”