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Linguistic structure emerges through the interaction of memory constraints and communicative pressures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2016

Molly L. Lewis  and
Michael C. Frank
Molly L. Lewis
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305. mll@stanford.edu mcfrank@stanford.edu http://web.stanford.edu/~mll/ http://web.stanford.edu/~mcfrank/
Michael C. Frank
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305. mll@stanford.edu mcfrank@stanford.edu http://web.stanford.edu/~mll/ http://web.stanford.edu/~mcfrank/
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Abstract

If memory constraints were the only limitation on language processing, the best possible language would be one with only one word. But to explain the rich structure of language, we need to posit a second constraint: the pressure to communicate informatively. Many aspects of linguistic structure can be accounted for by appealing to equilibria that result from these two pressures.

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Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 39 , 2016 , e82
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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