EAGER: Mechanical Symmetry and the Origins of Language

该奖项的研究目标是探索机械对称性支配所有自然和构造语言的进化，生产和理解的假设。最初的工作将集中在书面阿拉伯数字的机械对称性分析。一项初步研究已经表明，这些数字构成了20个字符中的9个，这些字符在数字钟使用的规范七段投影空间中表示时，直到仿射变换都是唯一的。这项研究将被扩展到考虑数字生成和感知中的对称性，使用来自机器人和运动神经科学领域的手写模型。如果成功，这项研究的结果可能最终改变科学家和工程师对语言的看法，通过建立一套共同的机械特性，所有的口语，书面，或签名字母必须共享，以便容易产生和理解。这组属性可以允许系统地构建非口语、书面或签名的新语言，例如以使得能够通过脑机接口中的神经传感器进行通信。它还可能应用于言语治疗、自然语言处理以及阅读障碍等学习障碍的诊断和治疗。这些研究目标与更广泛的K到博士教育和推广计划相一致，该计划将整合系统工程和神经科学，并将针对代表性不足的学生参与多学科教育和研究。

The research objective of this award is to explore the hypothesis that mechanical symmetry governs the evolution, production, and comprehension of all natural and constructed language. Initial work will focus on an analysis of mechanical symmetry in written Arabic numerals. A preliminary study has already shown that these numerals constitute nine of twenty characters that are unique up to affine transformation when represented in the canonical seven-segment projective space used by a digital clock. This study will be extended to consider symmetry in the generation as well as perception of numerals using a model of handwriting production derived from the fields of robotics and motor neuroscience.If successful, the results of this research may ultimately transform the way scientists and engineers think about language by establishing a common set of mechanical properties that all spoken, written, or signed alphabets must share in order to be easily produced and comprehended. This set of properties may allow the systematic construction of new languages that are not spoken, written, or signed, for example to enable communication through neural sensors in a brain- machine interface. It may also have application to speech therapy, to natural language processing, and to diagnosis and treatment of learning disabilities like dyslexia. These research goals are aligned with a broader K-to-PhD education and outreach plan that will integrate systems engineering and neuroscience and will target underrepresented students for involvement in multi-disciplinary education and research.