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A cognitive model of language acquisition |
John Holland |
The University of Michigan,Ann Arbor,MI 48109,USA |
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Abstract Language acquisition and evolution can be looked upon as emergent properties of a complex adaptive system(CAS). This paper defines a class of CAS relevant to language studies. It then outlines a set of computer-executable exploratory models(thought-experiments)aimed at studying emergent composition of utterances(proto-grammars). The models are constrained by known pre-primate cognitive abilities,but they do not attempt to employ parameters using linguistic data. As such,the models only indicate possibilities,not actualities. The models emphasize the social nature of language and the role of Darwinian selection in adapting language to both the environment and the language users.
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