Objective
The origins and evolution of human languages remains today one of the most fascinating unresolved puzzles of science and many disciplines are currently working on the subject. Computer scientists have also become involved, trying to program artificial agents in such a way that they are able to self-organize a language-like system from scratch. There are already some successful simulations. They endow agents with language strategies in the form of networks of embodied cognitive functions for producing, comprehending, learning and aligning some aspect of language, for example to express participant roles in events using a case grammar. The present project goes one step further and inquires about the origins of these language strategies and how they can become shared in a population, based on the hypothesis that language strategies form in each individual by the epigenetic recruitment and exaptation of distributed networks, which support the strategies culturally emerging in a population.
The project will develop the computational foundations for this ‘recruitment theory of language origins’, engage in simulations and robotic experiments, and validate them from a linguistic and biological point of view. It will look at the genetic bases of language by conducting Genome-wide Association Studies correlating phenotypic variation in linguistic aptitude, particularly for language learning, with genetic markers. At the end of this interdisciplinary project a more encompassing picture of language evolution should begin to emerge, illuminating the cultural, cognitive and genetic factors that have played a role in the origins and evolution of language.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- humanities languages and literature general language studies
- natural sciences biological sciences neurobiology cognitive neuroscience
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
FP7-PEOPLE-2011-CIG
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
MC-CIG - Support for training and career development of researcher (CIG)
Coordinator
08002 Barcelona
Spain
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.