Simulated Evolution of Language: a Review of the Field

This is an overview of recent computational work done in the simulated evolution of language. It is prefaced by an overview of the broader issues in linguistics that computational models may help to clarify. Is language innate – genetically specified in the human organism in some way, a product of natural selection? Or can the properties of language be accounted for by general cognitive capabilities that did not develop as a consequence of language-specific selective pressures? After a consideration of the intellectual background surrounding these issues, we will examine how recent computational work sheds light on them.