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The basic reproductive ratio as a link between acquisition and change in phonotactics
Andreas Baumann1, Nikolaus Ritt1
1Department of English, University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 2-4, Hof 8.3, A-1090 Vienna, Austria.
Cognition
|March 21, 2018
Summary
Language acquisition and change are linked. A new method quantifies this connection using a basic reproductive ratio, showing acquisition predicts change and vice versa in English phonotactics.
Area of Science:
- Linguistics
- Computational Linguistics
- Language Evolution
Background:
- Language acquisition and change are traditionally considered causally linked.
- Quantifying the strength of this relationship has been a challenge in linguistic research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and demonstrate a method for quantifying the causal connection between language acquisition and change.
- To investigate the role of constituent 'basic reproductive ratio' as a measure of reproductive success in linguistic evolution.
- To analyze English phonotactics to test the predictive power of acquisition data on change and vice versa.
Main Methods:
- Developed a method to quantify the 'basic reproductive ratio' of linguistic constituents.
- Applied this method to diachronic (historical) and acquisition data.
- Analyzed English phonotactic patterns to correlate measures derived from both data types.
Main Results:
- A strong correlation was found between the basic reproductive ratio derived from acquisition data and that derived from diachronic data for English phonotactics.
- Phonotactic acquisition was shown to predict phonotactic change, and conversely, phonotactic change predicted acquisition patterns.
- Utterance frequency was found to destabilize late-acquired, peripheral phonotactic items.
Conclusions:
- Language acquisition acts as a conservative force in the evolution of English phonotactics.
- Linguistic innovation primarily occurs in adult speech, affecting less entrenched but frequent items.
- The basic reproductive ratio provides a robust, standardized measure for understanding the dynamics of language change and acquisition.
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