Conversation, cognition and cultural evolution: a model of the cultural evolution of word order through pressures imposed from turn taking in conversation

Roberts, Seán G. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5990-9161 and Levinson, Stephen C. 2017. Conversation, cognition and cultural evolution: a model of the cultural evolution of word order through pressures imposed from turn taking in conversation. Interaction Studies 18 (3) , pp. 402-442. 10.1075/is.18.3.06rob

PDF - Accepted Post-Print Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (507kB)

Abstract

This paper outlines a first attempt to model the special constraints that arise in language processing in conversation, and to explore the implications such functional considerations may have on language typology and language change. In particular, we focus on processing pressures imposed by conversational turn-taking and their consequences for the cultural evolution of the structural properties of language. We present an agent-based model of cultural evolution where agents take turns at talk in conversation. When the start of planning for the next turn is constrained by the position of the verb, the stable distribution of dominant word orders across languages evolves to match the actual distribution reasonably well. We suggest that the interface of cognition and interaction should be a more central part of the story of language evolution.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	English, Communication and Philosophy
Publisher:	John Benjamins Publishing
ISSN:	1572-0373
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	10 June 2020
Date of Acceptance:	20 March 2017
Last Modified:	13 Nov 2024 07:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/132304

Citation Data

Cited 11 times in Scopus. View in Scopus. Powered By Scopus® Data

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item