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1Department of Economics, University of Vienna, Hohenstaufengasse 9, 1010 Vienna, Austria. christina.pawlowitsch@univie.ac.at
Journal of Theoretical Biology
|October 2, 2007
Summary
This study shows that efficient proto-languages, which map concepts to signs bijectively, are evolutionarily stable in finite populations. These languages resist invasion by mutant strategies under the Moran process.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Game Theory
- Computational Linguistics
- Population Genetics
Background:
- Proto-languages are collections of concept-to-sign mappings crucial for communication.
- Efficient proto-languages establish a bijective mapping between objects and signs.
- Evolutionary stability in finite populations is a key concept for understanding strategy dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the evolutionary stability of efficient proto-languages in a finite population.
- To analyze the conditions under which proto-languages evolve using the Moran process.
- To compare fixation probabilities and apply evolutionary stability criteria to language evolution.
Main Methods:
- Modeling proto-language evolution using the frequency-dependent Moran process.
- Applying fixation probability comparisons to determine evolutionary stability.
- Utilizing established methods for evolutionary stability in finite populations.
Main Results:
- Efficient proto-languages are demonstrated to be the only evolutionarily protected strategies.
- No mutant strategy can achieve a fixation probability exceeding the inverse population size.
- The study provides generalizable results on fixation probabilities for symmetric games.
Conclusions:
- Efficient proto-languages are evolutionarily stable against invasion by less efficient mappings.
- The findings contribute to understanding the emergence and stability of communication systems.
- The research extends the application of evolutionary game theory to linguistic structures.
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