Word lengths are optimized for efficient communication
Author(s)
Piantadosi, Steven Thomas; Tily, Harry Joel; Gibson, Edward A.
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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 information content is a much better predictor of word length than frequency. This indicates that human lexicons are efficiently structured for communication by taking into account interword statistical dependencies. Lexical systems result from an optimization of communicative pressures, coding meanings efficiently given the complex statistics of natural language use.
Date issued
2011-03Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive SciencesJournal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Publisher
National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)
Citation
Piantadosi, S. T., H. Tily, and E. Gibson. “Word lengths are optimized for efficient communication.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 108 (2011): 3526-3529.©2011 by the National Academy of Sciences.
Version: Final published version
ISSN
1091-6490