刊讯｜SSCI 期刊《计量语言学》2024年第1-2期

Journal of Quantitative Linguistics

Volume 31, Issue 1-2, 2024

Journal of Quantitative Linguistics（SSCI二区，2023 IF：1.4，排名：87/194）2024年第1-2期共发文11篇。其中，2024年第1期共发文5篇，其中研究性论文2篇，评论文章2篇，书评1篇。内容涉及文本分割、多重分形分析、计量语言学会议报告、语言普遍性和个性量化方法、DPnorm 和 DKLnorm。2024年第2期共发文6篇，其中研究性论文3篇，案例报告1篇，书评两篇。研究论文涉及潜变量建模、互动模型、苹果发布会量化特征、汉语词汇和句法量化研究、从句法到话语的依存结构、语料库研究。欢迎扩散转发！

往期推荐：

目录

Issue1

Research Articles

■ Text Segmentation Via Processes that Count the Number of Different Words Forward and Backward, by Berhane Abebe, Mikhail Chebunin & Artyom Kovalevskii, Pages 1–18.

■Multifractal Analysis of the Distribution of Three Grammatical Constructions in English Texts, by Rosmawati & Wander Lowie, Pages 19-42.

Review Articles

■ Corrections to Nelson (2023): DPnorm 和DKLnorm are Not Wrong on Pi at All, by Stefan Th Gries, Pages 43–53.

■ The Current State and Prominent Features of Quantitative Linguistics Through the Lens of QUALICO 2023: A Conference Report, by Jianwei Yan, Pages 54–67.

Book Review

■ Quantitative Approaches to Universality and Individuality in Language, by Wei Huang & Tenghao Ji, Pages68-75.

Issue2

Research Articles

■ Latent-Variable Modelling of Ordinal Outcomes in Language Data Analysis, by Lukas Sönning, Manfred Krug, Fabian Vetter, Timo Schmid, Anne Leucht & Paul Messer, Pages 77-106.

■On an Interaction Model of General Language Change, by A. Fuchs, M. Schwingenheuer, E. Steinegger & T. Voglmaier, Pages 107-138.

■Modifying Language for a Higher Goal: Investigating Quantitative Features of Apple’s Launch Event Speech from 2016 to 2022, by Yikai Zhou, Jingyang Jiang & Haitao Liu, Pages 130-160.

Case Report

■Author’s Response, by Robert Nelson, Pages 161–164.

Book Review

■ Quantitative Studies on Vocabulary and Syntax (in Chinese), by Mengfei Shen & Ruochen Niu, Pages 167-176.

■Dependency Structure from Syntax to Discourse. A Corpus Study of Journalistic English, by Yikai Zhou, Pages 176-182.

摘要

Text Segmentation Via Processes that Count the Number of Different Words Forward and Backward

Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk, Russia

Berhane Abebe, Department of Mathematics, Mainefhi College of Science,Mainefhi, Eritrea

Mikhail Chebunin, Karlsruhe institute of technology, Institute of Stochastics, Karlsruhe, Germany

Artyom Kovalevskii,Department of Probability Theory and Mathematical Statistics, Sobolev Institute of Mathematics, Novosibirsk, Russia; eDepartment of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, Novosibirsk State Technical University, Novosibirsk, Russia

Abstract The paper is developing a new statistical approach to automatic partitioning of texts into parts belonging to different authors. It is based on the analysis of processes that counts the number of different words forward and backward. The theoretical study of the processes is based on the assumptions of an elementary probability model with a change point. We prove consistence of our statistical estimate of the point of concatenation in the case when the concatenated texts have different Zipf exponents. This method is being tested on the Brown corpus and also on newspaper texts in different languages. Testing shows a good estimate of the concatenation point. This method can be used in parallel with other text segmentation methods.

Multifractal Analysis of the Distribution of Three Grammatical Constructions in English Texts

Rosmawati, Centre for Professional Communication, Singapore Institute of Technology, Singapore

Wander Lowie, Center for Language and Cognition / Applied Linguistics, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands

Abstract Both the Menzerath-Altmann law and the Zipf-Mandelbrot law note that language is a fractal structure and, like any other fractals, follows power laws. Studies on fractal linguistics demonstrated that the relation between the scaling measures and the number of constituents in language indeed follow the power law probability distribution. However, most of these studies looked at languages from the structural perspective only, often ignoring the grammatical aspects of language structures. In this study, we ventured into English grammar and used a multifractal analysis to explore the nature of multifractality in three grammatical structures in English texts – i.e. the Finite Verb Phrases, Noun Phrases, and Head Nouns. In this paper, we present the evidence of multifractality in the distribution of these constructs and discuss how the parameters of multifractality align with the current understanding of register variation in different text types.

Corrections to Nelson (2023): DPnorm 和DKLnorm are Not Wrong on Pi at All

Stefan Th Gries, Dept of Linguistics, UC Santa Barbara, USA & Department of English, JLU Giessen, Germany

Abstract This paper mainly discusses two computational errors in Nelson (2023), which demonstrate that part of his conclusions regarding two dispersion measures are flawed.

The Current State and Prominent Features of Quantitative Linguistics Through the Lens of QUALICO 2023: A Conference Report

Jianwei Yan, Department of Linguistics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

Abstract Quantitative Linguistics (QL) is an academic field that employs quantitative and statistical methods to explore language patterns and linguistic laws. From June 28th to 30th, 2023, the International Quantitative Linguistics Conference (QUALICO) 2023 took place in the picturesque and charming city of Lausanne, Switzerland. Co-organized by the International Quantitative Linguistics Association (IQLA) and the Department of Language and Information Sciences at the University of Lausanne, the conference is the first in-person QUALICO event after the COVID-19 pandemic. As the most prominent and authoritative international conference for QL, QUALICO 2023 demonstrates the current state and notable features of QL: 1) Maintain focus while keeping cutting-edge; 2) Encourage flourishing while celebrating diversity; 3) Exchange ideas while being open-minded. This gathering provides a platform for participants worldwide to present their research and engage in fruitful sharing, substantiating QL’s current state while shedding light on the prospects and emerging trends in the field.

Latent-Variable Modelling of Ordinal Outcomes in Language Data Analysis

Lukas Sönning, Manfred Krug, Institute of English and American Studies, University of Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany;

Fabian Vetter, Timo Schmid, Anne Leucht & Paul Messer, Institute of Statistics, University of Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany

Abstract In empirical work, ordinal variables are typically analysed using means based on numeric scores assigned to categories. While this strategy has met with justified criticism in the methodological literature, it also generates simple and informative data summaries, a standard often not met by statistically more adequate procedures. Motivated by a survey of how ordered variables are dealt with in language research, we draw attention to an un(der)used latent-variable approach to ordinal data modelling, which constitutes an alternative perspective on the most widely used form of ordered regression, the cumulative model. Since the latent-variable approach does not feature in any of the studies in our survey, we believe it is worthwhile to promote its benefits. To this end, we draw on questionnaire-based preference ratings by speakers of Maltese English, who indicated on a 5-point scale which of two synonymous expressions (e.g. package-parcel) they (tend to) use. We demonstrate that a latent-variable formulation of the cumulative model affords nuanced and interpretable data summaries that can be visualized effectively, while at the same time avoiding limitations inherent in mean response models (e.g. distortions induced by floor and ceiling effects). The online supplementary materials include a tutorial for its implementation in R.

On an Interaction Model of General Language Change

A. Fuchs, M. Schwingenheuer & T. Voglmaier Berufliche Oberschule Rosenheim, Rosenheim, Germany

E. Steinegger, Technische Hochschule, Rosenheim, Germany

Abstract In the following article, we construct an interaction model of general language change. This contributes in particular to quantitative studies on reversible language change initiated by G. Altmann by adding explanatory character in tracing global features of general language change back to the individual interaction of speakers. Although the corresponding coupled differential equations are (presumably) non-integrable, we use methods from the theory of dynamical systems to deduce the long-term behaviour (depending on four interaction parameters) of the model for any given initial constellation of speakers. Subsequent numerical analysis of real data on language change is used to justify the relevance of the constructed model for the practicing quantitative linguist. We show how data-fitting methods can be used to determine the four interaction parameters and predict from them the long-term behaviour of the system, i.e. if complete language change or reversible language change will take place.

Modifying Language for a Higher Goal: Investigating Quantitative Features of Apple’s Launch Event Speech from 2016 to 2022

Yikai Zhou, Jingyang Jiang, Department of Linguistics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China

Haitao Liu, Department of Linguistics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Institute of Quantitative Linguistics, Faculty of Linguistic Sciences, Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing, China; cCentre for Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, China

Abstract In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Apple Inc. switched its product launch from onsite events to pre-recorded online broadcasts. Yet this form has been carried on even though the pandemic has faded. It is unclear if this shift was accompanied by a move in language complexity and how the communication effect was influenced. This study analysed Apple’s product launch events from 2016 to 2022 using quantitative linguistics metrics such as lexical complexity, word token length, entropy, readability, and sentence length distribution. The analysis adopted the reach-effect-durability framework for interpreting the effects of strategic communication. The results showed that Apple’s online product launch events featured richer and longer words, increased text difficulty, and a decrease in the proportion of short sentences. Such changes happened in a balanced manner that can be interpreted in view of the driving and restraining forces resulting from the mode shift of the launch event. This study demonstrates the feasibility of assessing efforts and strategies used in a communication campaign through quantitative text analysis.

Author’s Response

Robert Nelson, Graduate College of Education, Temple Daigaku - Japan Campus, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan

Abstract Herein the author of Nelson (2023) addresses the claims made in Gries (2024).

期刊简介

The Journal of Quantitative Linguistics is interested in work which systematically applies or develops mathematical and/or statistical concepts and methods to theoretical understanding of language phenomena. This covers the range of synchronic and diachronic subdomains of linguistic theory, including contemporary and historical linguistics, sociolinguistics and dialectology, and cognitive, neural, and psycholinguistics as well as the various levels of analysis from phonetics through phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. The introduction of mathematical and statistical concepts and methods from the natural sciences, economics, and cognitive science is particularly encouraged, as is philosophical reflection on the relationship of quantitative linguistics as here understood to these other sciences.

《计量语言学》杂志关注系统应用或发展数学、统计学概念和方法，从理论层面理解语言现象的工作。杂志涵盖了语言学理论的历时和共时子领域，包括当代和历史语言学、社会语言学和方言学、认知、神经和心理语言学，以及从语音学到音系学、形态学、句法学、语义学和语用学的各个分析层面。杂志特别鼓励引入自然科学、经济学和认知科学中的数学和统计学概念和方法，以及对所理解的计量语言学与其他科学的关系进行哲学层面思考。

官网地址：

https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/njql20/30/2

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