Language Evolution and Robotics: Issues on Symbol Grounding and Language Acquisition

Abstract

This chapter focuses on recent studies on the origins and evolution of language which have used multiple robot systems as their primary platform. After presenting some theoretical background regarding language evolution and the symbol grounding problem, the chapter discusses a number of themes within the evolutionary linguistics that have been subject of robotic studies this far. These themes include categorisation, the formation of vocabularies, the evolution of grammar and the emergence of meaningful communication. Following this review, future avenues for research are discussed. The objective of the chapter is to present why robotics is a fruitful approach to study language origins and evolution, identify the main topics, report the major achievements and problems and provide a roadmap to future studies. The chapter concludes that robotics is, indeed, a very promising methodology to study language evolution and that, although many insights have been gained, we are still closer to the starting point than to the endpoint.