On the Evolution of Compositional Language

Abstract

We present here a hierarchical model for the evolution of compositional language. The model has the structure of a two-sender/one-receiver Lewis signaling game augmented with executive agents who may learn to influence the behavior of the basic senders and receiver. The model shows how functional agents might coevolve representational roles even as they evolve a reliable compositional language in the context of costly signaling. When successful, the evolved language captures both the compositional structure of properties in the world and the compositional structure of successful actions involving those properties.