Autistic traits, communicative efficiency, and social biases shape language learning in autistic and allistic learners

Lauren Fletcher*, Hugh Rabagliati, Jennifer Culbertson

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

There is ample evidence that individual-level cognitive mechanisms active during language learning and use can contribute to the evolution of language. For example, experimental work suggests that learners will reduce case marking in a language where grammatical roles are reliably indicated by fixed word order, a correlation found robustly in the languages of the world. However, such research often assumes homogeneity among language learners and users, or at least does not dig into individual differences in behavior. Yet, it is increasingly clear that language users vary in a large number of ways: in culture, in demographics, and—critically for present purposes—in terms of cognitive diversity. Here, we explore how neurodiversity impacts behavior in an experimental task similar to the one summarized above, and how this behavior interacts with social pressures. We find both similarities and differences between autistic and nonautistic English-speaking individuals, suggesting that neurodiversity can impact language change in the lab. This, in turn, highlights the potential for future research on the role of neurodivergent populations in language evolution more generally.
Original languageEnglish
Article number70007
Number of pages33
JournalCognitive Science: A Multidisciplinary Journal
Volume48
Issue number11
Early online date28 Oct 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2024

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • language evolution
  • neurodiversity
  • autism
  • artificial language learning
  • social biases
  • cultural evolution

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