Computer simulation of dialect feature diffusion

Kretzschmar Jr., W. A., Juuso, I. and Bailey, C. T. (2014) Computer simulation of dialect feature diffusion. Journal of Linguistic Geography, 2(1), pp. 41-57. (doi: 10.1017/jlg.2014.2)

Abstract

This paper describes the independent construction and implementation of two cellular automata that model dialect feature diffusion as the adaptive aspect of the complex system of speech. We show how a feature, once established, can spread across an area, and how the distribution of a dialect feature as it stands in Linguistic Atlas data could either spread or diminish. Cellular automata use update rules to determine the status of a feature at a given location with respect to the status of its neighboring locations. In each iteration all locations in a matrix are evaluated, and then the new status for each one is displayed all at once. Throughout hundreds of iterations, we can watch regional distributional patterns emerge as a consequence of these simple update rules. We validate patterns with respect to the linguistic distributions known to occur in the Linguistic Atlas Project.

• Item Type: Articles (Other)
• Keywords: language simulation, cellular automaton, visualization
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Kretzschmar, Professor William
• Authors: Kretzschmar Jr., W. A., Juuso, I., and Bailey, C. T.
• Subjects: P Language and Literature > P Philology. Linguistics; P Language and Literature > PE English; Z Bibliography. Library Science. Information Resources > ZA Information resources > ZA4050 Electronic information resources
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Critical Studies > English Language and Linguistics
• Journal Name: Journal of Linguistic Geography
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• ISSN: 2049-7547

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
		Digital Innovation Fellowship	William A. Kretzschmar, Jr.	ACLS	UNSPECIFIED