eprintid: 1131
rev_number: 5
eprint_status: archive
userid: 27
dir: disk0/00/00/11/31
datestamp: 2012-02-16 09:54:07
lastmod: 2012-04-02 07:22:55
status_changed: 2012-02-16 09:54:07
type: monograph
succeeds: 1054
metadata_visibility: no_search
creators_name: Petersen, Alexander M.
creators_name: Tenenbaum, Joel
creators_name: Havlin, Shlomo
creators_name: Stanley, H. Eugene
creators_id: alexander.petersen@imtlucca.it
creators_id: 
creators_id: 
creators_id: 
title: Statistical Laws Governing Fluctuations in Word Use from Word Birth to Word Death
ispublished: submitted
subjects: D1
subjects: HB
subjects: HM
subjects: P1
subjects: QC
divisions: EIC
full_text_status: public
monograph_type: working_paper
abstract: How often a given word is used, relative to other words, can convey information about the word’s linguistic utility. Using Google word data for 3 languages over the 209-year period 1800–2008, we found by analyzing word use an anomalous recent change in the birth and death rates of words, 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’s lexicon is a generic arena for competition which evolves according to selection laws that are related to social, technological, and political trends. Specifically, the aggregate properties of language show pronounced differences during periods of world conflict, e.g. World War II.
date: 2012
date_type: submitted
institution: IMT Institute for Advanced Studies Lucca
refereed: FALSE
related_url_url: http://arxiv.org/abs/1107.3707
citation:   Petersen, Alexander M. and Tenenbaum, Joel and Havlin, Shlomo and Stanley, H. Eugene  Statistical Laws Governing Fluctuations in Word Use from Word Birth to Word Death.  Working Paper       (Submitted)   
document_url: http://eprints.imtlucca.it/1131/1/WordGrowthDynamics.pdf