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Indefinite Pronouns Optimize the Simplicity/Informativeness Trade-Off.

Milica Denić1, Shane Steinert-Threlkeld2, Jakub Szymanik1

  • 1Institute for Logic, Language and Computation, University of Amsterdam.

Cognitive Science
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PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Human languages optimize communication efficiency through vocabulary, a principle now shown to apply to function words like indefinite pronouns. This linguistic efficiency shapes both content and function word categories across languages.

Keywords:
complexityefficiencyfunction wordsindefinitesinformativenesslinguistic universalssemanticstrade-off

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Area of Science:

  • Linguistics
  • Cognitive Science
  • Computational Linguistics

Background:

  • Human language vocabulary balances simplicity and informativeness for efficient communication.
  • Previous research focused on content words (e.g., kinship, color) to demonstrate this trade-off.
  • The applicability of this principle to function words remained less explored.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether indefinite pronoun systems across languages also optimize the simplicity/informativeness trade-off.
  • To extend the analysis of communication efficiency from content words to function words.
  • To explore if this trade-off explains universal properties of indefinite pronouns.

Main Methods:

  • Established the meaning space and featural composition of indefinite pronouns.
  • Conducted cross-linguistic analyses of indefinite pronoun systems.
  • Applied principles of information theory and linguistic typology.

Main Results:

  • Indefinite pronoun systems across diverse languages demonstrate an optimization of the simplicity/informativeness trade-off.
  • This finding confirms that communication efficiency pressures shape function word categories, similar to content words.
  • Evidence suggests this trade-off may account for some universal features of indefinite pronouns.

Conclusions:

  • The simplicity/informativeness trade-off is a fundamental principle shaping human language, extending to function words like indefinite pronouns.
  • This research bridges the study of content and function words under a unified theory of linguistic efficiency.
  • The findings reduce the need for complex explanations of indefinite pronoun universals, attributing them to communication efficiency pressures.