Document Type
Open Access Article
Abstract
In this article I provide a review of studies that have modeled interactions between language evolution and demographic processes. The models are classifi ed in terms of three different approaches: analytical modeling, agent-based analytical modeling, and agent-based cognitive modeling. I show that these approaches differ in the complexity of interactions that they can handle and that the agent-based cognitive models allow for the most detailed and realistic simulations. Thus readers are provided with a guideline for selecting which approach to use for a given problem. The analytical models are useful for studying interactions between demography and language evolution in terms of high-level processes; the agent-based analytical models are good for studying such interactions in terms of social dynamics without bothering too much about the cognitive mechanisms of language processing; and the agent-based cognitive models are best suited for the study of the interactions between the complex sociocognitive mechanisms underlying language evolution.
Recommended Citation
Vogt, Paul (2009) "Modeling Interactions Between Language Evolution and Demography," Human Biology: Vol. 81: Iss. 2-3, Article 7. Available at: http://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/humbiol/vol81/iss2/7
