Computational simulations are a popular method for testing hypotheses about
the emergence of communication. This kind of research is performed in a variety
of traditions including language evolution, developmental psychology, cognitive
science, machine learning, robotics, etc. The motivations for the models are
different, but the operationalizations and methods used are often similar. We
identify the assumptions and explanatory targets of several most representative
models and summarise the known results. We claim that some of the assumptions
-- such as portraying meaning in terms of mapping, focusing on the descriptive
function of communication, modelling signals with amodal tokens -- may hinder
the success of modelling. Relaxing these assumptions and foregrounding the
interactions of embodied and situated agents allows one to systematise the
multiplicity of pressures under which symbolic systems evolve. In line with
this perspective, we sketch the road towards modelling the emergence of
meaningful symbolic communication, where symbols are simultaneously grounded in
action and perception and form an abstract system.

该研究介绍了计算机模拟在语言演化、认知科学、机器学习、机器人等领域的应用，提出了几种代表性模型的论点和已知结论。研究发现一些假设和方法限制了模型的成功，认为应重视身体和环境对智能体的影响，并以此为基础，提出了将符号系统建立在行动、知觉以及抽象系统的想法。