Simple Models of Language Evolution

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Abstract: The complexity of language and the difficulty in evaluating models of the origin and the evolution of languages makes modelling  a fraught exercise, but the mystery that surrounds language compels us to nonetheless try. In this talk I will recap the Iterated Language Model, which was popular twenty years ago and I will suggest that it is ripe for renewed attention. I will also introduce an Ising-like model I want to propose as the simplest model to capture the most forces that cause languages to change: a need to communicate, a desire to invent and a bias towards communicating with other people whose language is similar to your own.