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Inference of partial colexifications from multilingual wordlists.

Johann-Mattis List^1,2

¹Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.

Frontiers in Psychology

|July 3, 2023

Summary

This study introduces novel computational methods for analyzing partial word colexification patterns. These advancements enable more accurate inference and visualization of linguistic data previously difficult to study.

Keywords:

colexification networks computational comparative linguistics computer-assisted language comparison loose colexification partial colexification

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Area of Science:

Computational Linguistics
Lexical Semantics
Cross-linguistic Studies

Background:

Recent years show increased research into colexification patterns across languages.
Computational methods have facilitated large-scale colexification studies using cross-linguistic data.
Studies on partial colexifications (involving word parts) are rare due to computational challenges and noise.

Purpose of the Study:

To address the challenges in studying partial colexifications.
To propose new computational models and methods for representing and inferring partial colexification patterns.
To demonstrate computational analysis and interactive visualization of these patterns.

Main Methods:

Development of new models for representing partial colexification patterns.
Creation of efficient computational workflows for inferring partial colexifications from multilingual wordlists.
Implementation of computational analysis and interactive visualization techniques.

Main Results:

Successfully proposed novel models for partial colexification representation.
Developed efficient methods for inferring partial colexification patterns from multilingual data.
Demonstrated effective computational analysis and visualization of inferred patterns.

Conclusions:

The study provides new computational approaches to overcome difficulties in analyzing partial colexifications.
The proposed methods enhance the ability to study nuanced colexification phenomena across languages.
This work opens new avenues for computational linguistic research on word structure and meaning.