What happens to language as populations grow?
Languages with lots of speakers, such as English and Mandarin, have large vocabularies with relatively simple grammar. Yet the opposite is also true:
A Cormell University cognitive scientist and his colleagues have shown that ease of learning may explain why the number of speakers has opposite effects on vocabulary and grammar. “We were able to show that whether something is easy to learn — like words or hard to learn — like complex grammar — can explain these opposing tendencies,” said co-author Morten Christiansen, professor of psychology at Cornell University and co-director of the Cognitive Science Program.
The researchers supposed that words are easier to learn than aspects of grammar.“You only need a few exposures to a word to learn it, so it’s easier for words to spread,” he said.
However, in a large community, like a big city, one person will talk only to a small proportion of the population.
The simulations suggest that language, and possibly other aspects of culture, may become simpler as our world becomes increasingly interconnected, Christiansen said. “
Not all hope is lost for those who want to maintain complex cultural traditions, he said: “People can self-organize into smaller communities to counteract that drive toward simplification.”
A.But learning a new grammatical innovation requires a lengthier learning process. |
B.This means that only a few people might be exposed to that complex grammar rule, making it harder for it to survive. |
C.Languages with fewer speakers have fewer words but complex grammars. |
D.Grammatical rules take a long time to establish themselves. |
E.This doesn’t necessarily mean that all culture will become overly simple. |
F.It may lead to the disappearance of some aspects of culture. |