THE ONTOGENY OF SCALE-FREE SYNTAX NETWORKS: PHASE TRANSITIONS IN EARLY LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
THE ONTOGENY OF SCALE-FREE SYNTAX NETWORKS: PHASE TRANSITIONS IN EARLY LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
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DOI：
10.1142/s0219525909002192
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发表时间：
2009-06-01
影响因子：
0.4
通讯作者：
Sole, Ricard
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Corominas-Murtra, Bernat;Valverde, Sergi;Sole, Ricard
儿童的语言发展为理解从原始语言到语言的过渡提供了一个窗口。在这里，我们首次分析了复杂网络中语法的出现。一个以前未被报道过的急剧转变显示发生在两岁左右，从一个（前句法）树状结构到一个无标度的小世界语法网络。因此，这些网络的发展揭示了一种非线性动态模式，其中语法图的全局拓扑结构从层次化的树状模式转变为无标度组织。这种变化似乎很难在自组织框架下解释。相反，它实际上支持一些潜在的先天成分的存在，正如一些作者早期提出的那样。
Language development in children provides a window to understand the transition from protolanguage to language. Here we present the first analysis of the emergence of syntax in terms of complex networks. A previously unreported, sharp transition is shown to occur around two years of age from a (pre-syntactic) tree-like structure to a scale-free, small world syntax network. The development of these networks thus reveals a nonlinear dynamical pattern where the global topology of syntax graphs shifts from a hierarchical, tree-like pattern, to a scale-free organization. Such change seems difficult to be explained under a self-organization framework. Instead, it actually supports the presence of some underlying innate component, as early suggested by some authors.