Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T19:48:52.407Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A stochastic process related to language change

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 July 2016

Barron Brainerd
Barron Brainerd*
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

The purpose of this note is two-fold. First, to introduce the mathematical reader to a group of problems in the study of language change which has received little attention from mathematicians and probabilists. Secondly, to introduce a birth and death process, arising naturally out of this group of problems, which has received little attention in the literature. This process can be solved using the standard methods and the solution is exhibited here.

Type
Research Papers
Information
Journal of Applied Probability , Volume 7 , Issue 1 , April 1970 , pp. 69 - 78
Copyright
Copyright © Applied Probability Trust 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

[1] Bailey, N. T. J. (1964) The Elements of Stochastic Processes with Applications to the Natural Sciences. John Wiley, New York.Google Scholar
[2] Dyen, Isidore (1960) On the validity of comparative lexicostatistics. Proc. Ninth Internat. Congress of Linguists. Edited by Lunt, H.. 238–247.Google Scholar
[3] Dyen, I., James, A. T. and Cole, J. W. L. (1967) Language divergence and estimated word retention rate. Language 43, 150–172.Google Scholar
[4] Lees, R. (1953) The basis of glottochronology. Language 29, 113–127.Google Scholar
[5] Swadesh, M. (1950) Salish internal relationships. Internat. J. Amer. Linguistics 16, 157–167.Google Scholar
[6] Van Der Merwe, N. (1966) New mathematics for glottochronology. Current Anthropology 7, 485–500.Google Scholar