Word lengths are optimized for efficient communication
We demonstrate a substantial improvement on one of the most celebrated empirical laws in the study of language, Zipf's 75-y-old theory that word length is primarily determined by frequency of use. In accord with rational theories of communication, we show across 10 languages that average inform...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
| Published: |
National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)
2011
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/65880 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5912-883X |