Authors: Theisen, Carrie Ann; Oberlander, Jon; Kirby, Simon

Source: Interaction Studies, Volume 11, Number 1, 2010 , pp. 14-32(19)

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company

Abstract:

Arbitrariness and systematicity are two of language's most fascinating properties. Although both are characterizations of the mappings between signals and meanings, their emergence and evolution in communication systems has generally been explored independently. We present an experiment in which both arbitrariness and systematicity are probed. Participants invent signs from scratch to refer to a set of items that share salient semantic features. Through interaction, the systematic re-use of arbitrary signal elements emerges.

Keywords: ARBITRARINESS; SYSTEMATICITY; SIGNS; LANGUAGE EVOLUTION; EMERGENT COMMUNICATION

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/is.11.1.08the

Publication date: 2010-03-01

More about this publication?

• Social Behaviour and Communication in Biological and Artificial Systems

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