The Average Word Length Dynamics as an Indicator of Cultural Changes in Society
Journal Title: Social Evolution & History - Year 2015, Vol 14, Issue 2
Abstract
In this article we analyze the dynamics of average length of the Russian and English words belonging to the Google Books dia-chronic text corpus and dated back to the last two centuries. It is found that an average word length slightly increased in the nineteenth century, and then it grew rapidly over most of the twentieth century and started decreasing from the end of the twentieth to the beginning of the twenty-first century. Words which contributed most to the increase or decrease of word average length are identified, with content words and function words being analyzed separately. Long content words contribute most to the average length of words. These words reflect the main tendencies of societal development and, thus, are frequently used. The changing frequency of personal pronouns also contributes significantly to changes in average word length.
Authors and Affiliations
Vladimir V. Bochkarev, Anna V. Shevlyakova, Valery D. Solovyev
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP266041
- DOI -
- Views 136
- Downloads 0
Classifying Cultures and Identifying Cultural Identities by Relations in Groups: Drawing from Models in Psychology and Ecology
This piece offers a preliminary test of approaches adapted from psychology and ecology for use in classifying and explaining choices of cultural strategies and identities. The paper adds two methodological dimensions to...
A Complexity Perspective on Institutional Change: Dealing with Land Fragmentation in Galicia
As land use planning aims at changing land use through a variety of institutions, theories on institutional change have become increasingly important to understand planning processes. Two discourses can be distinguished...
Difficulties of Mental Mapping of Historical Time in the Chuvash National Identity: Cultural Continuities and Intellectual Failures
The concepts of historical time are among the focal points in the perception and invention of national history. The concepts and categories of historical time were actualized among non-historical nations when the latter...
Historical Memory and Intercultural Tolerance: Students' Attitudes to the Colonialism-Born Minorities in Tanzania and Zambia
The evidence shows that the Tanzanian and Zambian university students representing the African by origin overwhelming majority of the countries' population are generally tolerant towards their compatriots of the non-Afri...
The Surprise that Transforms. An American Perspective on What the 2040s Might Bring
Each long wave peak has been followed by a cluster of paradigm-shifting innovations that transform every aspect of work and life. We expect that the next peak of c. 2036 will also be followed by a decade-long cluster o...