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Article published In: Computational Construction Grammar and Constructional Change
Edited by Katrien Beuls and Remi van Trijp
[Belgian Journal of Linguistics 30] 2016
► pp. 193–217

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The evolution of Lexical Usage Profiles in social networks

 | Université de Lille | CNRS UMR 8163 STL
Published online: 10 January 2017
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https://doi.org/10.1075/bjl.30.09sch
This paper investigates how network structure influences the outcomes of reinforcement learning in a series of multi-agent simulations. Its basic results are the following: (i) contact between agents in networks creates similarity in the usage patterns of the signals these agents use; (ii) in case of complete networks, the bigger the network, the smaller the lexical differentiation; and (iii) in networks consisting of linked cliques, the distance between usage patterns reflects on average the structure of the network.
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