The Growth Dynamics of Words: How Historical Context Shapes the Competitive Linguistic Environment

ORAL

Abstract

Using the massive Google n-gram database of over 10$^{11}$ word uses in English, Hebrew, and Spanish, we explore the connection between the growth rates of relative word use and the observed growth rates of disparate competing actors in a common environment such as businesses, scientific journals, and universities, supporting the concept that a language's lexicon is a generic arena for competition, evolving according to selection laws. We find aggregate-level anomalies in the collective statistics corresponding to the time of key historical events such as World War II and the Balfour Declaration.

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Authors

  • Joel Tenenbaum

    • Center for Polmer Studies, Department of Physics, Boston University, Boston, MA

  • Alexander Petersen

    • IMT Lucca Institute for Advanced Studies
    • IMT Lucca Institute for Advanced Studies, Lucca 55100, Italy

  • Shlomo Havlin

    • Minerva Center and Department of Physics, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
    • Bar-Ilan University
    • Department of Physics, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
    • Department of Physics, Bar-Ilan University, Romat-Gan 52900, Israel
    • Department of Physics, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
    • Mineva Center and Department of Physics, Bar-Ilan University

  • H.Eugene Stanley

    • Boston University
    • Center for Polmer Studies, Department of Physics, Boston University, Boston, MA
    • Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
    • Center for Polymer Studies and Dept of Physics, Boston University
    • Center for Polymer Studies and Department of Physics, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215 USA
    • Center for Polymer Studies and Department of Physics, Boston University