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Speech Variation, Utility, and Game Theory
Author(s) -
Dror Moshe,
Granot Daniel,
YaegerDror Malcah
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
language and linguistics compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.619
H-Index - 44
ISSN - 1749-818X
DOI - 10.1111/lnc3.12045
Subject(s) - variation (astronomy) , perspective (graphical) , dilemma , variety (cybernetics) , iterated function , dominance (genetics) , game theory , linguistics , perception , psychology , sociology , computer science , epistemology , mathematical economics , mathematics , artificial intelligence , mathematical analysis , philosophy , biochemistry , physics , chemistry , neuroscience , astrophysics , gene
Abstract We review a new perspective for analyzing linguistic variation, diffusion, and change, by introducing into this ‘arena’ the economists' perception of strategic individual interactions. We invoke basic game theory principles to explain linguistic outcomes of individual speech production in a variety of interactional social settings. We present real‐life examples that illustrate our game perspective regarding linguistic interactions and present a number of mappings into well‐known game constructs such as the Prisoners' Dilemma, iterated dominance, and extensive form games. Our purpose is to suggest a game theory ‘prism’ as a plausible methodology for analysis of individual interactional linguistic situations.