UCLA

Cultural transmission of language evolves in a way that increases transmitability. Over generations languages become more adaptive—increasingly structured and less liable to transmission error. However, the underlying mechanisms of this process are largely unmapped. Here, we survey an iterated learning model and individual language trajectories longitudinally. Language variation of individuals over multiple diffusion chains unveils individual adjustments as structure emerges. A behavioral archetype, “Great Innovators”, emerges and displays diffusion chain fitness effects. Our results reveal a mechanism of language change in a social environment and exhibit how language evolution adheres to coordination rules.