Artificial language learning experiments test how far language users can extract rule-like generalizations from structured input (Culbertson, 2023). Since Reber’s (1967) seminal artificial grammar (AG) study, which aimed at investigating implicit learning mechanisms, artificial language (AL) paradigms have become more diverse in their implementation and have been proposed as a versatile tool for addressing an increasingly broad range of research topics within areas as varied as second language acquisition, language typology, and language change. 

Despite this extensive body of research, the nature of the knowledge acquired in AL experiments as well as the effects of different training methods implemented in these studies still need to be debated, given their crucial implications for the linguistic research questions that can sensibly be addressed through these studies. 

The aim of this workshop is to explore the scope of artificial languages as a tool in linguistic research. In particular, we are interested in the implications of different AL training methods and learning outcomes for possible application areas of ALs within different subfields of linguistics and concerning multifaceted research questions. 

We are especially interested in the following questions: 

• What kinds of linguistic knowledge can be acquired through artificial language paradigms, and how comparable is it to the knowledge of a native language? 

• How much do different training methods (e.g., implicit vs. explicit training) affect the nature of the knowledge that is acquired? 

• What kind of linguistic research questions can be addressed through artificial languages? 

• How far could studies involving these paradigms inform our understanding of mechanisms related to language change and language typology? 

• Taking into consideration the many new technological possibilities that have emerged since early AG experiments: What can participant-friendly implementations of artificial language designs look like in view of rather extensive training procedures?

Speakers and discussants:

Kara Morgan-Short (University of Illinois Chicago) 
Kenny Smith (University of Edinburgh) 
Jennifer Culbertson (University of Edinburgh) 
Mora Maldonado (Université de Nantes) 
Zara Harmon (Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen) 
Gareth Roberts (University of Pennsylvania) 
Marieke Schouwstra (University of Amsterdam) 

Program:

Day 1: Thursday, September 25, 2025
09:30-10:00	Registration opens
10:00-10:15	Malte Rosemeyer, Martín Fuchs, and Julia Heine (FU Berlin) Opening
10:15-11:00	Kara Morgan-Short (University of Illinois Chicago) (Neural underpinnings of artificial language learning)
11:00-11:30	Coffee break
11:30-12:15	Kenny Smith (University of Edinburgh) (The experimental study of semantic extension in novel communication systems)
12:15:13:30	Lunch
13:30-14:15	Jennifer Culbertson (University of Edinburgh) (Investigating typological universals through artificial languages)
14:15-15:30	Mora Maldonado (Université de Nantes) (Processing/learning constraints affecting semantic universals)
15:30-16:00	Coffee break
16:00-16:45	Zara Harmon (Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen) (Accessibility vs. frequency in semantic extension in artificial languages)
18:00	Dinner

Day 2: Friday, September 26, 2025
10:00-10:45	Gareth Roberts (University of Pennsylvania) (Social and communicative pressures in shaping the emergence and evolution of language)
10:45-11:15	Coffee break
11:15-12:30	Marieke Schouwstra (University of Amsterdam) (Individual and cultural processes producing structured languages using ‘language creation’ experiments)
12:30-12:45	Closing remarks
12:45-14:00	Lunch

Time & Location

Sep 25, 2025 - Sep 26, 2025

Rooms: J 32/102 (Sep 25, 2025) / J 27/14 (Sep 26, 2025)
Freie Universität Berlin
Habelschwerdter Allee 45 (Rostlaube)

Contact Email: malte.rosemeyer@fu-berlin.de