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

当聋哑儿童没有接触到手语时，他们会自发地发展出新的交流形式。 在实验室里，成年人在没有传统沟通方式的情况下进行互动，也有发展新的沟通形式的非凡天赋。叶史瓦大学的Bruno Galantucci和他的学生们利用这些观察结果来验证一个关于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，手语依赖于更多的基本形式。手语和口语在另一个方面也有区别：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：一个通信系统的形式越是模仿世界，这个系统就越有可能依赖于一个大的基本形式集。如果正确的话，这为口语和手语之间的核心设计差异提供了一个简单而优雅的解释。这项研究将在叶史瓦大学（一所主要的本科院校）进行，并将为本科生提供出色的研究经验。 该项目还开发了一种创新的方法，将通过一个专门的网站随时提供给其他研究人员。这种方法可用于进一步研究支持人类沟通的核心机制。关于这些机制的知识有许多潜在的应用。例如，它可用于（a）设计语言，促进互联网上的普遍交流;（B）开发新技术，帮助患有交流障碍的人;（c）改进外语教学方法。

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.