Microevolutionary language theory
Name
47799461-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
20.17 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
5fb44f37bc72b4e11251e1faf5e2ed8c
Author(s)
Best, Michael Lloyd
Advisor(s)
Pattie Maes.
Date Issued
2000
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
A new microevolutionary theory of complex design within language is proposed. Experiments were carried out that support the theory that complex functional design - adaptive complexity - accumulates due to the evolutionary algorithm at the simplest levels within human natural language. A large software system was developed which identifies and tracks evolutionary dynamics within text discourse. With this system hundreds of examples of activity suggesting evolutionary significance were distilled from a text collection of many millions of words. Research contributions include: (1) An active replicator model of microevolutionary dynamics within natural language, (2) methods to distill active replicators offering evidence of evolutionary processes in action and at multiple linguistic levels (lexical, lexical co-occurrence, lexico-syntactic, and syntactic), (3) a demonstration that language evolution and organic evolution are both examples of a single over-arching evolutionary algorithm, (4) a set of tools to comparatively study language over time, and (5) methods to materially improve text retrieval.
Description
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2000.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 219-245).
Subjects
Architecture.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Architecture
Terms of Use
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