Cogn Sci September 2022 PMID 36083286

Drift as a Driver of Language Change: An Artificial Language Experiment.

Rafael Ventura, Joshua B Plotkin, Gareth Roberts

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Mentions

Peak: 6 in Nov 2022

across 4 sources since Nov 2022

Extended reach

21,601

potential audience

Total likes

Video views

105

Mentions per month

Nov 2022 – Aug 2025

Where it's discussed

X / Twitter9 posts
Bluesky2 posts
News2 articles
YouTube1 videos

AI synopsis

What people are saying

Discussions highlight the core idea that random 'drift' significantly influences language change, with posts referencing the article directly, such as 'Drift may be a major driver of language change.' Words like 'may be' and the sharing of the article indicate tentative agreement. Some comments, including a brief mention of a scientist's statement, suggest moderate engagement and curiosity about the implications of stochastic processes in linguistics, reflecting a general interest but not deep exploration.

AgreementModerate agreement

Most discussions acknowledge the significance of the article, especially noting authors' emphasis on stochastic drift as a key factor in language change.

InterestModerate interest

Participants show a moderate level of curiosity, with some debating the implications, but overall they seem somewhat intrigued by the topic.

EngagementModerate engagement

The engagement is mixed; some posts simply share the article or mention the authors, while a few add brief reflections, indicating a modest level of involvement.

ImpactModerate impact

The conversations suggest the article's findings could influence ongoing research or understanding of language evolution, though the discussions remain somewhat superficial.

Abstract in brief

The study explores how language change is influenced by "drift" (random variation) and "selection" (preferential change), focusing on whether more frequent words are more stable because of stronger selection or because of stochastic drift.
Participants learned a mini language with nouns of different frequencies and experienced different conditions that simulated drift and selection effects, allowing researchers to measure how quickly nouns became regularized.
Results showed that random drift alone can explain why less frequent words change more rapidly, suggesting that stochastic drift plays a significant role in driving language change over time.]

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All mentions

The Role of Drift in Language Change and Mythology in Greece

This video explores the influence of random variation, or drift, in language evolution and examines Hestia's role in Greek mythology, highlighting her significance as the goddess of the sacred flame and the heart of the…

Luje Aldwald · Jun 12, 2025 105 views

El-Que Illustration

@el-que.bsky.social · Bluesky

Aug 5, 2025 · 8 likes · 1 share View post →

El-Que Illustration

@el-que.bsky.social · Bluesky

Jun 11, 2025 · 3 likes · 1 share View post →

Gareth Roberts

@garicgymro · X

@KevinAbroad1 https://t.co/RCuiGH1q6U

May 26, 2023 · 7 likes · 5,769 followers View post →

Gareth Roberts

@garicgymro · X

RT @PennLinguistics: #RecentPaper Ventura, R., Plotkin, J. B., and Roberts, G. (2022) Drift as a driver of language change: An artificial…

Dec 6, 2022 · 1 share · 5,769 followers View post →

Penn Linguistics

@PennLinguistics · X

#RecentPaper Ventura, R., Plotkin, J. B., and Roberts, G. (2022) Drift as a driver of language change: An artificial language experiment. Cognitive Science. 46(9): e13197. https://t.co/4QnSoAsTkq

Dec 6, 2022 · 7 likes · 1 share · 261 followers View post →