| Full text | |
| Author(s): |
Fontanari‚ JF
;
Perlovsky‚ LI
Total Authors: 2
|
| Document type: | Journal article |
| Source: | Physical Review E; v. 70, n. 4, p. 042901, 2004. |
| Abstract | |
Zipf's law asserts that in all natural languages the frequency of a word is inversely proportional to its rank. The significance, if any, of this result for language remains a mystery. Here we examine a null hypothesis for the distribution of word frequencies, a so-called discourse-triggered word choice model, which is based on the assumption that the more a word is used, the more likely it is to be used again. We argue that this model is equivalent to the neutral infinite-alleles model of population genetics and so the degeneracy of the different words composing a sample of text is given by the celebrated Ewens sampling formula [Theor. Pop. Biol. 3, 87 (1972)], which we show to produce an exponential distribution of word frequencies. (AU) | |
| FAPESP's process: | 99/09644-9 - Theoretical Molecular Evolution |
| Grantee: | José Fernando Fontanari |
| Support Opportunities: | Research Projects - Thematic Grants |