Adaptive languages : an information-theoretic account of linguistic diversity
Christian Bentz
Bok Engelsk 2018
| Omfang | xv, 218 sider : illustrasjoner
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| Opplysninger | Revidert utgave av forfatterens doktoravhandling --University of Cambridge, 2015. - Dissertation. - Introduction -- Languages as adaptive systems -- Language change and population structure -- Lexical diversity across languages of the world -- Descriptive factors : language "internal" effects -- Explanatory factors : language "external" effects -- Grouping factors : language families and areas -- Predicting lexical diversity : statistical models -- Explaining diversity : multiple factors interacting -- Further problems and caveats -- Conclusions: Universality and diversity -- Appendix A: Advanced entropy estimators -- Appendix B: Multiple regression assumptions -- Appendix C: Mixed-effects regression assumptions.. - "Languages transmit information. They are vessels carrying meaning across metres, kilometres, and around the globe. This book harnesses information theory to measure word-level differences in more than 1200 languages. It further models geographic, demographic and social factors to explain the diversity of encoding strategies. The results support the framework of languages as complex adaptive systems which are shaped by the varying needs of their users." -- Bokas bakside
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| ISBN | 9783110557589
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