Dr Erich Round

This appointment provides Dr Erich Round the opportunity to expand the foundations of an evolutionary theory of linguistic systems of word formation, such as verb conjugations and noun declensions. Since complex historical dynamics can trigger unexpected outcomes, the project translates current theories of change into their corresponding mathematical models and applies these to investigate whether the theories’ predictions, once computationally implemented, are consistent with theorists’ original expectations. The aim is to create new opportunities for the evaluation, refinement and exploration of our scientific understanding of language change. In doing so, the project emphasises interdisciplinary parallels between theories in linguistics and related models in fields such as cultural evolution and seeks to demystify the potential of mathematical modelling for scholarly inquiry into linguistic history.