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Related Concept Videos

Language01:16

Language

212
Language is a unique communication system that uses words and systematic rules to organize and transmit information. Unlike other forms of communication, which may involve postures, movements, odors, or vocalizations, language relies on symbols and grammar. This makes human communication distinct from that of other species, who also communicate but do not use language in the same way humans do.
Corballis and Suddendorf (2007) and Tomasello and Rakoczy (2003) highlight the role of language in...
212
Language and Cognition01:27

Language and Cognition

343
Language serves as a bridge between ideas and communication, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with the world. Psychologists have long debated whether language shapes thought or vice versa. This discussion gained grip with Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf in the 1940s, who proposed that language determines thought, a concept known as linguistic determinism. They suggested that the vocabulary and structure of a language influence how its speakers think and perceive reality.
343
Components of Language01:24

Components of Language

268
Language, whether spoken, signed, or written, consists of specific components: lexicon and grammar. The lexicon is the vocabulary of a language, comprising its words. Grammar is the set of rules used to convey meaning through the lexicon. For example, English grammar adds “-ed” to most verbs to indicate past tense. Words are formed by combining phonemes, which are the basic sound units of a language. Different languages have different sets of phonemes (e.g., “ah” vs.
268
Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language01:10

Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language

804
Language is a system of communication that allows the expression of thoughts, ideas, and feelings. The brain processes language in both hemispheres.
Language formation and comprehension take place in the dominant hemisphere. The dominant hemisphere is responsible for understanding the meaning of spoken, written, or sign language, as well as the ability to communicate. For most people, the left hemisphere is the dominant one. The right hemisphere, then, gives tone and emotional context to the...
804
Language Development01:22

Language Development

358
Children master language quickly and with relative ease, supported by both biological predisposition and reinforcement. B. F. Skinner (1957) proposed that language is learned through reinforcement, while Noam Chomsky (1965) argued that language acquisition mechanisms are biologically determined.
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...
358
Levels of Communication II: Organizational, Public, and Group Dynamics01:27

Levels of Communication II: Organizational, Public, and Group Dynamics

2.1K
Effective communication is the foundation of a good organization. Communication is the lifeblood of an organization that connects the group with messages. In an organization, communication occurs in upward, downward, and horizontal lines. Downward communication travels from the administrative and senior levels to the staff through official channels such as manuals, rules and regulations, and organizational charts. Staff members initiate upward communication, which is addressed to executives and...
2.1K

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 28, 2025

Foreign Accent and Forensic Speaker Identification in Voice Lineups: The Influence of Acoustic Features Based on Prosody
09:09

Foreign Accent and Forensic Speaker Identification in Voice Lineups: The Influence of Acoustic Features Based on Prosody

Published on: September 27, 2024

444

How Network Structure Shapes Languages: Disentangling the Factors Driving Variation in Communicative Agents.

Mathilde Josserand1,2, Marc Allassonnière-Tang1,2, François Pellegrino1

  • 1Laboratoire Dynamique du Langage, Université Lyon 2 - CNRS UMR 5596.

Cognitive Science
|April 12, 2024
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Network structure significantly impacts language variation. Smaller, less connected communities foster more interindividual language differences, challenging previous assumptions about network size and density.

Keywords:
Bayesian agentsCommunicative networksInterindividual variationIterated learningLanguage evolutionNetwork structure

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Area of Science:

  • Linguistics
  • Computational Social Science
  • Complexity Science

Background:

  • Language variability exists among speakers, but the role of communicative network structure is not well understood.
  • Previous research focused on language change, leaving gaps in understanding network effects on language variability.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how communicative network structure influences language variability.
  • To differentiate the effects of network structure on language change versus language emergence.

Main Methods:

  • Developed a Bayesian agent-based model for language evolution.
  • Conducted thousands of simulations to isolate the effects of global network metrics.
  • Contrasted scenarios of language change and language emergence.

Main Results:

  • Global network characteristics critically shape interindividual language variation.
  • Intraindividual language variation is minimally affected by network structure.
  • Path length and clustering coefficient are key drivers of interindividual variation, not size or density.
  • Variation is more probable in less connected populations and smaller communities.

Conclusions:

  • Network structure, particularly path length and clustering, is a primary determinant of interindividual language variation.
  • Findings challenge traditional views emphasizing network size and density.
  • The study offers theoretical insights into the mechanisms driving language variation.