Oesterreichisches Forschungsinstitut fuer Artificial Intelligence (OeFAI)
Schottengasse 3, A-1010 Wien
Tel.: +43-1-5336112, Fax: +43-1-5320652, Email: sec@ai.univie.ac.at
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VORTRAG
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Dr.Frederic KAPLAN
SONY Computer Science Lab
Paris
Using Agents Playing Language Games
to Understand Spontaneous Lexicon Change
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We argue that lexicon change can be explained through the stochasticity
observed in real-world natural language use. To support this thesis, we
model language use through language games played in evolving populations
of agents. Obtaining variation is not obvious, because a language com-
munity should also have a natural tendency towards coherence, otherwise
communication would not be effective. An adequate explanatory model of
lexicon change must therefore show (1) how a coherent lexicon may arise
in a group of agents, (2) how nevertheless the lexicon may remain intern-
ally varied and exhibit constant innovation, (3) how some of this vari-
ation may be amplified to become dominant in the population.
Zeit: Montag, 20.Juli 1998, 18:30 Uhr
Ort: OeFAI, Schottengasse 3, 1010 Wien 1.
OESTERREICHISCHES FORSCHUNGSINSTITUT
FUER ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
o.Univ.-Prof.Dr.Robert Trappl