揭示语言形式与意义间的系统性如何促进高效沟通
Systematicity between Forms and Meanings across Languages Supports Efficient Communication
- 用可学习性衡量映射复杂度，捕捉语言形式的精细规律
- 发现语法形式受简洁性与准确性双重压力塑造
- 为语言系统性提供演化解释，适合语言学研究者
语言在意义与词形之间的映射方式差异显著。已有研究表明这种映射支持高效沟通，但未能解释词形内部的系统性关系。本文研究了跨类型多样语言中动词和代词对若干有限语法意义（如人称、数）的表达方式。结果表明，动词和代词的形式受通信效率中简洁性（最小化语法区分数量）与准确性（确保意图意义可恢复）的双重压力影响。关键创新在于提出一种新复杂度度量（简洁性的倒数），基于意义到形式映射的可学习性。该度量能更好区分实际存在与未被观察到的语言系统，建立高效沟通理论与自然语言系统性之间的新联系。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
Languages vary widely in how meanings map to word forms. These mappings have been found to support efficient communication; however, this theory does not account for systematic relations within word forms. We examine how a restricted set of grammatical meanings (e.g. person, number) are expressed on verbs and pronouns across typologically diverse languages. Consistent with prior work, we find that verb and pronoun forms are shaped by competing communicative pressures for simplicity (minimizing the inventory of grammatical distinctions) and accuracy (enabling recovery of intended meanings). Crucially, our proposed model uses a novel measure of complexity (inverse of simplicity) based on the learnability of meaning-to-form mappings. This innovation captures fine-grained regularities in linguistic form, allowing better discrimination between attested and unattested systems, and establishes a new connection from efficient communication theory to systematicity in natural language.
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