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Do Language Change Rates Depend On Population Size?

Author

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  • SØREN WICHMANN

    (Department of Linguistics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany;
    Languages and Cultures of Indian America (TCIA), PO Box 9515, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands)

  • DIETRICH STAUFFER

    (Institute for Theoretical Physics, Cologne University, D-50923 Köln, Germany)

  • CHRISTIAN SCHULZE

    (Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095-1563, USA)

  • ERIC W. HOLMAN

    (Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095-1563, USA)

Abstract

An earlier study [24] concluded, based on computer simulations and some inferences from empirical data, that languages will change the more slowly the larger the population gets. We replicate this study using a more complete language model for simulations (the Schulze model combined with a Barabási–Albert network) and a richer empirical dataset [12]. Our simulations show either a negligible or a strong dependence of language change on population sizes, depending on the parameter settings; while empirical data, like some of the simulations, show a negligible dependence.

Suggested Citation

  • Søren Wichmann & Dietrich Stauffer & Christian Schulze & Eric W. Holman, 2008. "Do Language Change Rates Depend On Population Size?," Advances in Complex Systems (ACS), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 11(03), pages 357-369.
    • Handle: RePEc:wsi:acsxxx:v:11:y:2008:i:03:n:s0219525908001684
    DOI: 10.1142/S0219525908001684
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    Cited by:

    1. Eduardo G Altmann & Janet B Pierrehumbert & Adilson E Motter, 2011. "Niche as a Determinant of Word Fate in Online Groups," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(5), pages 1-12, May.

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