A Language Shift Simulation Based on Cellular Automata

Abstract

Language extinction is a widespread social phenomenon affecting several million people throughout the world today. By the end of this century, more than 5100 of the approximately 6000 languages currently spoken around the world will have disappeared. This is mainly because of language shifts, i.e., because a community of speakers stops using their traditional language and speaks a new one in all communication settings. In this study, the authors present the properties of a cellular automaton that incorporates some assumptions from the Gaelic-Arvanitika model of language shifts and the findings on the dynamics of social impacts in the field of social psychology. To assess the cellular automaton, the authors incorporate empirical data from Valencia (a region in Southern Europe), where Catalan speakers are tending to shift towards using Spanish. Running the automaton under different scenarios, the survival or extinction of Catalan in Valencia depends on individuals’ engagement with their language. The authors discuss how a cellular automata theory approach proves to be a useful tool for understanding the language shift.