Revised version of the author's thesis (doctoral)--University of Cambridge, 2015. Includes bibliographical references (pages 195-213) and index.
Contents:
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.
Summary:
"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." -- Page 4 of cover.
Series:
Trends in linguistics. Studies and monographs ; volume 316
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.