?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Feprints.imtlucca.it%2F1131%2F&rft.title=Statistical+Laws+Governing+Fluctuations+in+Word+Use+from+Word+Birth+to+Word+Death&rft.creator=Petersen%2C+Alexander+M.&rft.creator=Tenenbaum%2C+Joel&rft.creator=Havlin%2C+Shlomo&rft.creator=Stanley%2C+H.+Eugene&rft.subject=D+History+(General)&rft.subject=HB+Economic+Theory&rft.subject=HM+Sociology&rft.subject=P+Philology.+Linguistics&rft.subject=QC+Physics&rft.description=How+often+a+given+word+is+used%2C+relative+to+other+words%2C+can+convey+information+about+the+word%E2%80%99s+linguistic+utility.+Using+Google+word+data+for+3+languages+over+the+209-year+period+1800%E2%80%932008%2C+we+found+by+analyzing+word+use+an+anomalous+recent+change+in+the+birth+and+death+rates+of+words%2C+which+indicates+a+shift+towards+increased+levels+of+competition+between+words+as+a+result+of+new+standardization+technology.+We+demonstrate+unexpected+analogies+between+the+growth+dynamics+of+word+use+and+the+growth+dynamics+of+economic+institutions.+Our+results+support+the+intriguing+concept+that+a+language%E2%80%99s+lexicon+is+a+generic+arena+for+competition+which+evolves+according+to+selection+laws+that+are+related+to+social%2C+technological%2C+and+political+trends.+Specifically%2C+the+aggregate+properties+of+language+show+pronounced+differences+during+periods+of+world+conflict%2C+e.g.+World+War+II.&rft.date=2012&rft.type=Working+Paper&rft.type=NonPeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.language=en&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Feprints.imtlucca.it%2F1131%2F1%2FWordGrowthDynamics.pdf&rft.identifier=++Petersen%2C+Alexander+M.+and+Tenenbaum%2C+Joel+and+Havlin%2C+Shlomo+and+Stanley%2C+H.+Eugene++Statistical+Laws+Governing+Fluctuations+in+Word+Use+from+Word+Birth+to+Word+Death.++Working+Paper+++++++(Submitted)+++