A complex systems perspective on language evolution

Language is acknowledged as a complex adaptive system, but its implications from a modelingperspective remain largely under-explored. This paper explores the application of complex systems theory, as formalized by Thurner, Hanel, and Klimek in their book, ”Introduction to the Theory of Complex Systems” (2018), to the study of language evolution. Here we show thata simple agent-based model of language evolution that incorporates innovations, combinations,and the social transmission of cultural traits is sufficient to produce a rapid complexification of the linguistic systems in both evolutionary and developmental contexts. A key feature ofthis model, necessary for the emergence of complexity, is the ability to productively combineand selectively filter out traits. This highlights the importance of combinatorial interactionsin the self-organization of linguistic systems. From a developmental perspective, it stresses the importance of acquiring a sufficient number of traits to bootstrap the complexity of natural language