Information-theoretic Causal Inference of Lexical Flow (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781013294549)

This volume seeks to infer large phylogenetic networks from phonetically encoded lexical data and contribute in this way to the historical study of language varieties. The technical step that enables progress in this case is the use of causal inference algorithms. Sample sets of words from language varieties are preprocessed into automatically inferred cognate sets, and then modeled as information-theoretic variables based on an intuitive measure of cognate overlap. Causal inference is then applied to these variables in order to determine the existence and direction of influence among the varieties. The directed arcs in the resulting graph structures can be interpreted as reflecting the existence and directionality of lexical flow, a unified model which subsumes inheritance and borrowing as the two main ways of transmission that shape the basic lexicon of languages.

This work was published by Saint Philip Street Press pursuant to a Creative Commons license permitting commercial use. All rights not granted by the work's license are retained by the author or authors.

Author: Johannes Dellert
ISBN-10: 1013294548
ISBN-13: 9781013294549
Publisher: Saint Philip Street Press
Language: English
Published: 10/09/2020
Pages: 382
Format: Paperback
Weight: 1.95lbs
Size: 11.00h x 8.50w x 0.79d