Abstract
An application of membrane systems to natural languages study is presented. Specifically, we show how language change can be explained by using a new variant of membrane systems: Dynamic Meaning Membrane Systems (DMMS). By using DMMS, we model the main concepts of semantics and explain the three basic types of changes in meaning: broadening, narrowing and shift. Finally, we relate the membrane systems' application to language evolution with the suggested application of the so-called cultural grammar systems to the same topic. Collaboration between the two frameworks may provide a useful formalism that, due to its naturalness and simplicity, might offer interesting results in a discipline traditionally far away from any formalization.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.