Gualdoni, E., & Boleda, G. (2024). Why do objects have many names? A study on word informativeness in language use and lexical systems. arXiv preprint arXiv:2410.07827.
This paper investigates why human lexical systems allow multiple names for the same object, exploring whether this "soft mapping" between referents and words is an efficient solution for communication.
The authors introduce a novel measure of word informativeness (I) based on the size of a word's denotation in a visual feature space, using color naming data from English and Mandarin Chinese. They analyze how speakers adapt their word choices to contextual difficulty and simulate the performance of hypothetical lexical systems with different levels of flexibility.
A flexible lexicon, where multiple words with varying levels of informativeness can refer to the same object, is crucial for efficient communication. This allows speakers to adjust their language to the specific demands of a given context, maximizing accuracy while minimizing redundancy.
This study bridges the gap between research on language use and lexical systems, providing insights into the interplay between word informativeness, context, and communication efficiency. It highlights the importance of considering both semantic and pragmatic factors when studying language optimization.
The study is limited to the color domain and two languages (English and Mandarin Chinese). Future research should explore the generalizability of these findings to other semantic domains and languages. Additionally, incorporating pragmatic factors into the word informativeness measure could provide a more comprehensive understanding of lexical efficiency.
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by Eleonora Gua... at arxiv.org 10-11-2024
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2410.07827.pdfDeeper Inquiries