title: Linguistic structure emerges through the interaction of memory constraints and communicative pressures.
abstract: If memory constraints were the only limitation on language processing, the best possible language would be one with only one word. But to explain the rich structure of language, we need to posit a second constraint: the pressure to communicate informatively. Many aspects of linguistic structure can be accounted for by appealing to equilibria that result from these two pressures.
authors: Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305. mll@stanford.edu http://web.stanford.edu/~mll/
authors: Molly L
authors: ML
authors: Lewis
authors: Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305. mll@stanford.edu http://web.stanford.edu/~mll/
authors: Michael C
authors: MC
authors: Frank
mesh_terms: D003142:Communication; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008037:Linguistics; D008568:Memory