From changes in the world to changes in the words

Abstract

From changes in the world to changes in the words Jean-Philippe Magué12  (12)  Laboratoire Dynamique Du Langage, Institut des Sciences de l’Homme, Université Lyon 2, Lyon cedex, France Abstract This paper deals with the evolution of the lexicon in a changing environment. We adopt Mufwene’s (2001) metaphor of ‘language as species’ that explains evolution of languages as differential selection of features in languages’ feature pools. We propose a multi-agent model and use it to explore the role of different constraints on the feature selection process. We show that constraints are indeed competing and that one of them is the major constraint in natural selection, viz., fitness to the environment. Jean-Philippe MaguéEmail: jean-philippe.mague@etu.univ-lyon2.fr