Cooperation, social selection, and language change : an experimental investigation of language divergence
In this thesis, I use an experimental model to investigate the role of social pressures in stimulating language divergence. Research into the evolution of cooperation has emphasised the usefulness of ingroup markers for swiftly identifying outsiders, who pose a threat to cooperative networks. Mechanisms for avoiding cheats and freeriders, which tend to rely on reputation, or on (explicit and implicit) contracts between individuals, are considerably less effective against short-term visitors. Outsiders, moreover, may behave according to different social norms, which may adversely affect cooperative interactions with them. There are many sources of markers by which insiders and outsiders can be distinguished, but language is a particularly impressive one. If human beings exploit linguistic variation for this purpose, we might expect the exploitation to have an influence on the cultural evolution of language, and to be involved in language divergence, since it introduces a selective pressure, by which linguistic variants are selected on the basis of their social significance. However, there is also a neutral, mechanistic model of dialect formation that relies on unconscious accommodation between interlocutors,
Roberts, Andrew Gareth Vaughan
historical linguistics ; language evolution ; sociolinguistics ; cooperation ; divergence
Cooperation, social selection, and language change : an experimental investigation of language divergence. In this thesis, I use an experimental model to investigate the role of social pressures in stimulating language divergence. Research into the evolution of cooperation has emphasised the usefulness of ingroup markers for swiftly identifying outsiders, who pose a threat to cooperative networks. Mechanisms for avoiding cheats and freeriders, which tend to rely on reputation, or on (explicit and implicit) contracts between individuals, are considerably less effective against short-term visitors. Outsiders, moreover, may behave according to different social norms, which may adversely affect cooperative interactions with them. There are many sources of markers by which insiders and outsiders can be distinguished, but language is a particularly impressive one. If human beings exploit linguistic variation for this purpose, we might expect the exploitation to have an influence on the cultural evolution of language, and to be involved in language divergence, since it introduces a selective pressure, by which linguistic variants are selected on the basis of their social significance. However, there is also a neutral, mechanistic model of dialect formation that relies on unconscious accommodation between interlocutors,
cooperation social selection language_change experimental_investigation language divergence use experimental model investigate_role social_pressure stimulate language divergence evolution cooperation emphasise usefulness marker swiftly identify outsider pose threat cooperative network mechanisms avoid tend rely reputation explicit_implicit contract individual considerably less effective short_term visitor moreover may behave accord_different social_norm may adversely affect cooperative interaction them many source marker insider outsider distinguish language particularly impressive human_being exploit linguistic_variation purpose might_expect exploitation influence cultural_evolution language involve language divergence since introduces selective pressure linguistic_variant select basis social_significance however_also neutral mechanistic model dialect formation relies unconscious accommodation interlocutor