Information-Theoretic Analysis of Language Evolution and Emergence

Primary supervisor

Ehsan Shareghi

Linguistic phenomena have emerged and evolved over the span of thousands of years leading to many variations. Through this evolution, many linguistic structures and compositions have emerged or disappeared. In this project we will deploy an information-theoretic perspective to investigate the connections between linguistic phenomena (survival), and communication efficiency and emergence.

Student cohort

Single Semester
Double Semester

URLs/references

[1] Efficient compression in color naming and its evolution

[2] ELBO surgery: yet another way to carve up the variational evidence lower bound

Required knowledge

  • Proficiency in Python

  • Working knowledge of  deep learning

  • A Deep Passion for Linguistics or Information-Theory

  • Very good verbal and written communication skill is required