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Adult learning and language simplification

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Atkinson_2018_CS_AdultLearning_CC.pdf (299.1Kb)
Date
06/12/2018
Author
Atkinson, Mark
Smith, Kenny
Kirby, Simon
Keywords
Language evolution
Language complexity
Cultural transmission
Adult learning
Linguistic accommodation
Foreigner-directed speech
BF Psychology
LC5201 Education extension. Adult education. Continuing education
NDAS
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Abstract
Languages spoken in larger populations are relatively simple. A possible explanation for this is that languages with a greater number of speakers tend to also be those with higher proportions of non-native speakers, who may simplify language during learning. We assess this explanation for the negative correlation between population size and linguistic complexity in three experiments, using artificial language learning techniques to investigate both the simplifications made by individual adult learners and the potential for such simplifications to influence group-level language characteristics. In Experiment 1, we show that individual adult learners trained on a morphologically complex miniature language simplify its morphology. In Experiment 2, we explore how these simplifications may then propagate through subsequent learning. We use the languages produced by the participants of Experiment 1 as the input for a second set of learners, manipulating (a) the proportion of their input which is simplified and (b) the number of speakers they receive their input from. We find, contrary to expectations, that mixing the input from multiple speakers nullifies the simplifications introduced by individuals in Experiment 1; simplifications at the individual level do not result in simplification of the population's language. In Experiment 3, we focus on language use as a mechanism for simplification, exploring the consequences of the interaction between individuals differing in their linguistic competence (as native and non-native speakers might). We find that speakers who acquire a more complex language than their partner simplify their language during interaction. We ultimately conclude that adult learning can result in languages spoken by more people having simpler morphology, but that idiosyncratic simplifications by non-natives do not offer a complete explanation in themselves; accommodationby comparatively competent non-natives to less competent speakers, or by native speakers to non-nativesmay be a key linking mechanism.
Citation
Atkinson , M , Smith , K & Kirby , S 2018 , ' Adult learning and language simplification ' , Cognitive Science , vol. 42 , no. 8 , pp. 2818-2854 . https://doi.org/10.1111/cogs.12686
Publication
Cognitive Science
Status
Peer reviewed
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/cogs.12686
ISSN
0364-0213
Type
Journal article
Rights
Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Cognitive Science Journal published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Cognitive Science Society. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Description
Mark Atkinson was supported by an Arts & Humanities Research Council PhD Studentship (AH/K503010/1).
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  • University of St Andrews Research
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/20873

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