Evolution of universal grammar
Evolution of universal grammar
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DOI：
10.1126/science.291.5501.114
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发表时间：
2001-01-05
期刊：
影响因子：
56.9
通讯作者：
Niyogi, P
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Nowak, MA;Komarova, NL;Niyogi, P
通用语法指定了语言习得的机制。它决定了儿童在语言学习过程中所接受的语法假设的范围以及他们评估输入句子的程序。普遍语法如何产生是进化生物学的一个重大挑战。我们提出了语法学习进化动力学的数学框架。核心结果是连贯阈值，它指定了通用语法在群体内引发连贯交流的条件。我们研究同一通用语法内的语法选择以及不同通用语法之间的竞争。我们计算了自然选择有利于复杂语言背后的基于规则的生成语法的出现的条件。
Universal grammar specifies the mechanism of Language acquisition. It determines the range of grammatical hypothesis that children entertain during language Learning and the procedure they use for evaluating input sentences. How universal grammar arose is a major challenge for evolutionary biology. We present a mathematical framework for the evolutionary dynamics of grammar learning. The central result is a coherence threshold, which specifies the condition for a universal grammar to induce coherent communication within a population. We study selection of grammars within the same universal grammar and competition between different universal grammars. We calculate the condition under which natural selection favors the emergence of rule-based generative grammars that underlie complex Language.