Rules are an efficient feature of natural languages which allow speakers to use a finite set of
instructions to generate a virtually infinite set of utterances. Yet, for many regular rules, there …

The expressive power of natural languages depends on their regular compositional
structure, which allows us to express and understand an infinite set of messages. However …

A well‐trod debate at the nexus of cognitive science and linguistics, the so‐called past tense
debate, has examined how rules and exceptions are individually acquired (McClelland & …

The regularization of linguistic structures by learners has played a key role in arguments for
strong innate constraints on language acquisition, and has important implications for …

Certain properties are shared among the world's languages and are assumed to reflect
learners' cognitive and linguistic biases. One such feature is that linguistic variation tends …

In customizing the neutral model for language transmission, Reali & Griffiths [1] have added
a new,'Bayesian'learning interpretation to a neutral model that has been used in cultural …

Rule-like behaviour is found throughout human language, provoking a number of apparently
conflicting explanations. This paper frames the topic in terms of Tinbergen's four questions …

This thesis explores a perspective for explaining the origins of linguistic structure that is
based on considerations beyond the constraints of the language acquisition device. In …

Languages with many speakers tend to be structurally simple while small communities
sometimes develop languages with great structural complexity. Paradoxically, the opposite …

Abstract Language exhibits striking systematic structure. Words are composed of
combinations of reusable sounds, and those words in turn are combined to form complex …