Word reuse and combination support efficient communication of emerging concepts
Aotao Xu1,2, Charles Kemp3, Lea Frermann2
1Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3G8, Canada.
Lexicalization, the creation of new words, uses word reuse and combination. This study reveals both strategies balance word length and informativeness for efficient communication.
Area of Science:
- Linguistics
- Cognitive Science
- Information Theory
Background:
- Lexicalization is crucial for expressing novel concepts.
- Word reuse and word formation (combination) are common lexicalization strategies, often studied in isolation.
- Existing research separates the study of word meaning extension and word formation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose an information-theoretic account of lexicalization strategies.
- To explain the trade-off between word length and informativeness in word reuse and combination.
- To unify the study of word reuse and combination under a single theoretical framework.
Main Methods:
- Developed an information-theoretic model of lexicalization.
- Analyzed a large dataset of lexical items (reuse and compounds) in English, French, and Finnish.
- Compared the communicative efficiency of historical lexical items with hypothetical alternatives.
Main Results:
- Lexicalization strategies are constrained by a trade-off between word length and precision.
- Word reuse favors shorter words at the cost of precision; word combination yields more informative but longer words.
- Historically emerging lexical items demonstrate higher communicative efficiency than hypothetical constructions.
- Literal reuse items and compounds are more communicatively efficient than their nonliteral counterparts.
Conclusions:
- Word reuse and combination are unified under an efficient communication principle.
- Lexicalization strategies are driven by a balance between competing communicative pressures.
- The findings support a unified, information-theoretic account of lexicalization.
More Related Videos
12:49Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation tDCS of Wernicke's and Broca's Areas in Studies of Language Learning and Word Acquisition
Published on: July 13, 2019
09:20Cloud-Based Phrase Mining and Analysis of User-Defined Phrase-Category Association in Biomedical Publications
Published on: February 23, 2019
Related Concept Videos
Concepts and Prototypes
The brain organizes this information using concepts, which are mental categories grouping linguistic data,...
Creative Thinking
Divergent thinking is the...
Mnemonic Devices
Acronyms
Acronyms are created by using the initial letters of a series of words to form a new word or phrase. This approach condenses complex information into a single, memorable entity. For example,...
Overview of Transposition and Recombination
Viral Recombination
Natural and Artificial Concepts
