title: Iterated learning and the evolution of language.
abstract: Iterated learning describes the process whereby an individual learns their behaviour by exposure to another individual's behaviour, who themselves learnt it in the same way. It can be seen as a key mechanism of cultural evolution. We review various methods for understanding how behaviour is shaped by the iterated learning process: computational agent-based simulations; mathematical modelling; and laboratory experiments in humans and non-human animals. We show how this framework has been used to explain the origins of structure in language, and argue that cultural evolution must be considered alongside biological evolution in explanations of language origins.
authors: University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom. Electronic address: simon@ling.ed.ac.uk.
authors: Simon
authors: S
authors: Kirby
authors: University of California at Berkeley, USA.
authors: Tom
authors: T
authors: Griffiths
authors: University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom.
authors: Kenny
authors: K
authors: Smith
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D003468:Cultural Evolution; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D007858:Learning; D008962:Models, Theoretical