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Power-law regularities in human language

Author

Listed:
  • Ali Mehri

    (Faculty of Science, Noshirvani University of Technology)

  • Sahar Mohammadpour Lashkari

    (Faculty of Science, Noshirvani University of Technology)

Abstract

Complex structure of human language enables us to exchange very complicated information. This communication system obeys some common nonlinear statistical regularities. We investigate four important long-range features of human language. We perform our calculations for adopted works of seven famous litterateurs. Zipf’s law and Heaps’ law, which imply well-known power-law behaviors, are established in human language, showing a qualitative inverse relation with each other. Furthermore, the informational content associated with the words ordering, is measured by using an entropic metric. We also calculate fractal dimension of words in the text by using box counting method. The fractal dimension of each word, that is a positive value less than or equal to one, exhibits its spatial distribution in the text. Generally, we can claim that the Human language follows the mentioned power-law regularities. Power-law relations imply the existence of long-range correlations between the word types, to convey an especial idea.

Suggested Citation

  • Ali Mehri & Sahar Mohammadpour Lashkari, 2016. "Power-law regularities in human language," The European Physical Journal B: Condensed Matter and Complex Systems, Springer;EDP Sciences, vol. 89(11), pages 1-6, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:eurphb:v:89:y:2016:i:11:d:10.1140_epjb_e2016-70423-9
    DOI: 10.1140/epjb/e2016-70423-9
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Ghosh, Dipak & Chakraborty, Sayantan & Samanta, Shukla, 2019. "Study of translational effect in Tagore’s Gitanjali using Chaos based Multifractal analysis technique," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 523(C), pages 1343-1354.
    2. Piotr Gabrielczak & Tomasz Serwach, 2019. "Firm-size distribution in Poland – is power law applicable?," Lodz Economics Working Papers 3/2019, University of Lodz, Faculty of Economics and Sociology.
    3. Jamaati, Maryam & Mehri, Ali, 2018. "Text mining by Tsallis entropy," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 490(C), pages 1368-1376.
    4. Mehri, Ali & Jamaati, Maryam, 2021. "Statistical metrics for languages classification: A case study of the Bible translations," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    5. Piotr Gabrielczak & Tomasz Serwach, 2021. "Firm-Size Distribution in Poland: Is Power Law Applicable?," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 2, pages 31-49.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Statistical and Nonlinear Physics;

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