MPI COLLOQUIUM: ASSISTANT PROF.DR. MARIEKE SCHOUWSTRA

TITLE:

Against the rules: variation, regularity, and iconicity in the evolution of language

ABSTRACT:

All languages in the world have regularities as well as exceptions; the rules that determine the structure of a language are never hard rules. In studying the evolutionary origins of human language, it is important to take both regularity and variation seriously. It is good to focus on each of these individually, but better to try to unravel the dynamic between them. Under what circumstances is regularity favoured, and when is variation preferred or maintained? In my talk I will focus on lexical variation as well as syntactic variation. When do language users all use the same words and structures, and when do they maintain variation? The experimental results I will present (from silent gesture, interaction, and learning experiments) fit well with observations from existing languages (spoken and signed). Together they suggest that learning and interaction promote regularity, but not at all costs, and deviation from dominant patterns is more prevalent in languages than previously acknowledged. In my talk I will emphasise the role of iconicity (form-meaning resemblance), which can be an important driver of within-language variation, particularly when iconic links are easily recognised by different language users. It might be useful, I will claim, to see human languages as a perfect balance between form-form resemblances and form-meaning resemblances.