Language structure in the n-object naming game

TL;DR

This paper investigates how a two-agent naming game for multiple objects leads to language emergence, highlighting the roles of homonymy and synonymy, and examining the effects of noise on communication efficiency.

Contribution

It introduces a model of the n-object naming game that analyzes language evolution, focusing on the dynamics of homonymy and synonymy over time.

Findings

Homonymy persists as a dynamical trap reducing efficiency.

Synonymy is transient and does not impact long-term efficiency.

Noise disperses words more evenly, affecting communication dynamics.

Abstract

We examine a naming game with two agents trying to establish a common vocabulary for n objects. Such efforts lead to the emergence of language that allows for an efficient communication and exhibits some degree of homonymy and synonymy. Although homonymy reduces the communication efficiency, it seems to be a dynamical trap that persists for a long, and perhaps indefinite, time. On the other hand, synonymy does not reduce the efficiency of communication, but appears to be only a transient feature of the language. Thus, in our model the role of synonymy decreases and in the long-time limit it becomes negligible. A similar rareness of synonymy is observed in present natural languages. The role of noise, that distorts the communicated words, is also examined. Although, in general, the noise reduces the communication efficiency, it also regroups the words so that they are more evenly distributed within the available "verbal" space.