Artificial language
Languages emerging from conventionalisation, not conscious design.
Last updated
Chris 73 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Artificial languages are languages of a typically very limited size that emerge in computer simulations between artificial agents, robot interactions, or controlled psychological experiments with humans. Unlike consciously devised constructed languages, they are not deliberately invented but result from distributed conventionalisation processes, similar to natural languages. They are studied within the field of artificial language evolution, a sub-part of cultural evolution studies.
Quick Facts
- Field
- Evolutionary linguistics, experimental semiotics
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The idea of creating constructed languages arose in the 17th and 18th centuries as Latin's international role declined. Early schemes aimed at developing a rational language free from living languages' inconsistencies, based on classification of concepts; later schemes incorporated material from living languages.
The lack of empirical evidence in evolutionary linguistics led researchers to adopt computer simulations, hypothesizing that natural language is a complex adaptive system emerging through interactions. By building assumptions into simulations, they investigate language change and origins under controlled conditions. The paradigm later extended to psychological experiments with humans, leading to experimental semiotics.
Reader's Guide
Artificial languages are significant because they provide empirical, controlled means to study language evolution and conventionalisation dynamics. Unlike constructed languages, they are not designed by individuals but emerge from distributed interactions, mirroring natural language processes. Their limited size and short-lived nature are their main distinctions from natural languages, as all languages are artificial insofar as they are conventional. Researchers use them in developmental psycholinguistics, particularly in statistical language acquisition studies, where control over linguistic patterns is valuable.
The field challenges the idea of a central designer and aligns with cultural evolution studies. Because the focus is on higher-level properties rather than specific conventions, these languages are typically not documented or reused outside the experiment or simulation in which they emerge. Their success has spawned experimental semiotics, extending the paradigm to human subjects.
Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly is an artificial language in the study of writing systems?
An artificial language is a small, emergent communication system that arises spontaneously within computer simulations, robot-to-robot interactions, or tightly controlled human experiments. It is not something a person sits down and designs; rather, it self-organizes among the agents involved.
Which academic fields study artificial languages?
They fall under the umbrella of artificial language evolution, a sub-discipline of cultural evolution research. The work draws heavily on evolutionary linguistics and experimental semiotics, often using agent-based simulations or laboratory interaction studies.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Artificial language (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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