When a text is translated does the complexity of its vocabulary change? Translations and target readerships.
In linguistic studies, the academic level of the vocabulary in a text can be described in terms of statistical physics by using a "temperature" concept related to the text's word-frequency distribution. We propose a "comparative thermo-linguistic" technique to analyze the vo...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2014-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0110213 |
| _version_ | 1819112346426015744 |
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| author | Hênio Henrique Aragão Rêgo Lidia A Braunstein Gregorio D'Agostino H Eugene Stanley Sasuke Miyazima |
| author_facet | Hênio Henrique Aragão Rêgo Lidia A Braunstein Gregorio D'Agostino H Eugene Stanley Sasuke Miyazima |
| author_sort | Hênio Henrique Aragão Rêgo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In linguistic studies, the academic level of the vocabulary in a text can be described in terms of statistical physics by using a "temperature" concept related to the text's word-frequency distribution. We propose a "comparative thermo-linguistic" technique to analyze the vocabulary of a text to determine its academic level and its target readership in any given language. We apply this technique to a large number of books by several authors and examine how the vocabulary of a text changes when it is translated from one language to another. Unlike the uniform results produced using the Zipf law, using our "word energy" distribution technique we find variations in the power-law behavior. We also examine some common features that span across languages and identify some intriguing questions concerning how to determine when a text is suitable for its intended readership. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T04:12:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b11edfedf18e4b1885ac3fc361dfe34f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T04:12:03Z |
| publishDate | 2014-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-b11edfedf18e4b1885ac3fc361dfe34f2022-12-21T18:39:30ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032014-01-01910e11021310.1371/journal.pone.0110213When a text is translated does the complexity of its vocabulary change? Translations and target readerships.Hênio Henrique Aragão RêgoLidia A BraunsteinGregorio D'AgostinoH Eugene StanleySasuke MiyazimaIn linguistic studies, the academic level of the vocabulary in a text can be described in terms of statistical physics by using a "temperature" concept related to the text's word-frequency distribution. We propose a "comparative thermo-linguistic" technique to analyze the vocabulary of a text to determine its academic level and its target readership in any given language. We apply this technique to a large number of books by several authors and examine how the vocabulary of a text changes when it is translated from one language to another. Unlike the uniform results produced using the Zipf law, using our "word energy" distribution technique we find variations in the power-law behavior. We also examine some common features that span across languages and identify some intriguing questions concerning how to determine when a text is suitable for its intended readership.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0110213 |
| spellingShingle | Hênio Henrique Aragão Rêgo Lidia A Braunstein Gregorio D'Agostino H Eugene Stanley Sasuke Miyazima When a text is translated does the complexity of its vocabulary change? Translations and target readerships. PLoS ONE |
| title | When a text is translated does the complexity of its vocabulary change? Translations and target readerships. |
| title_full | When a text is translated does the complexity of its vocabulary change? Translations and target readerships. |
| title_fullStr | When a text is translated does the complexity of its vocabulary change? Translations and target readerships. |
| title_full_unstemmed | When a text is translated does the complexity of its vocabulary change? Translations and target readerships. |
| title_short | When a text is translated does the complexity of its vocabulary change? Translations and target readerships. |
| title_sort | when a text is translated does the complexity of its vocabulary change translations and target readerships |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0110213 |
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