RUI - Investigating the Design of Human Communication Systems in the Laboratory: The Effects of Mimesis

RUI - 研究实验室中人类通信系统的设计：模仿的影响

• 批准号: 1026943
• 负责人: Bruno Galantucci
• 金额: $ 34.97万
• 依托单位: Yeshiva University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-09-15 至 2014-10-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1026943&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RUI; Investigating; Design; Human; Communication

When deaf children are not exposed to sign language they spontaneously develop novel forms of communication. In the laboratory, adults interacting in the absence of conventional means of communication also have a remarkable talent for developing novel forms of communication. Bruno Galantucci and his students at Yeshiva University use these observations to test a simple hypothesis about the core design principles of natural languages. At the most fundamental level, spoken languages rely on a few dozen basic forms. Sign languages, however, rely on a much larger number of basic forms. Signed and spoken languages also differ in another way: The forms of sign language can more easily mimic aspects of the world to which they refer than can the forms of speech. It may be that the two differences are intimately connected: The more the forms of a communication system mimic the world, the more likely it is that the system relies on a large set of basic forms. If correct, this provides a simple and elegant explanation for a core difference in design between spoken and signed languages. This research will be carried out at Yeshiva University, a primarily undergraduate institution, and will provide excellent research experience for undergraduate students. The project also develops an innovative methodology which will be made readily available to other researchers through a dedicated website. Such methodology can be used for further investigations of the core mechanisms supporting human communication. Knowledge about these mechanisms has a number of potential applications. For example, it can be used (a) to design languages which facilitate universal communication over the internet; (b) to develop new technologies to help people who suffer from communication disorders; and (c) to improve the methods used for teaching foreign languages.

当聋哑儿童没有接触手语时，他们会自发地发展出新的交流方式。 在实验室中，在没有传统沟通方式的情况下进行互动的成年人也具有开发新颖沟通方式的非凡才能。叶史瓦大学的布鲁诺·加兰图奇和他的学生利用这些观察结果来测试有关自然语言核心设计原则的简单假设。在最基本的层面上，口语依赖于几十种基本形式。然而，手语依赖于大量的基本形式。手语和口语在另一个方面也有所不同：手语的形式比言语的形式更容易模仿它们所指的世界的各个方面。 这两种差异可能是密切相关的：通信系统的形式越模仿世界，该系统就越有可能依赖于大量的基本形式。如果正确的话，这将为口语和手语之间设计的核心差异提供简单而优雅的解释。这项研究将在叶史瓦大学（Yeshiva University）这一主要本科院校进行，将为本科生提供出色的研究体验。 该项目还开发了一种创新方法，其他研究人员可以通过专门的网站轻松使用该方法。这种方法可用于进一步研究支持人类交流的核心机制。有关这些机制的知识有许多潜在的应用。例如，它可以用于（a）设计有助于通过互联网进行通用通信的语言； (b) 开发新技术来帮助患有沟通障碍的人； (c) 改进外语教学方法。