Iconic Artificial Language Learning: A Conceptual Replication with English Speakers

Abstract

We introduce an iconic approach to artificial language learning, one that replaces traditional phonologically-grounded stimuli with pictographic writing systems. Conducting an experiment with English speakers, we demonstrate the viability of this approach by reproducing word order effects observed in multiple studies (e.g., Culbertson & Adger, 2014; Martin, Holtz, Abels, Adger, & Culbertson, 2020). Importantly, iconic artificial languages make it possible to re-use the same linguistic stimuli with diverse language populations, facilitating crosslinguistic investigations.