Blevins, J.P., Milin, P. orcid.org/0000-0001-9708-7031 and Ramscar, M. (2017) The Zipfian paradigm cell filling problem. In: Kiefer, F., Blevins, J.P. and Bartos, H., (eds.) Perspectives on Morphological Structure: Data and Analyses. Brill , Leiden , pp. 139-158. ISBN 9789004342910
Abstract
This chapter proposes that the stable coexistence of regular and irregular patterns can be understood in terms of a trade-off between the opposing communicative pressures imposed by predictability and discriminability. On this view, irregularity is not ‘defective’ or ‘anomalous’. Instead, irregular formations exhibit an enhanced discriminability that brings them into maximal conformance with precepts like the ‘one form - one meaning principle’, while allowing them to act as attractors within a larger system. Conversely, regularity is neither ‘optimal’ nor ‘normative’. Regular patterns serve to facilitate predictability within a system. In order for regular items to perform this function, it must be possible to assign partially attested paradigms that exhaust the variation in the system. We suggest that a correlation between lexical neighbourhoods and patterns of co-filled cells bootstraps this analogical process.
Metadata
Item Type: | Book Section |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Editors: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2017 Brill. This is an author produced version of a chapter subsequently published in Kiefer, F. et al, (2017) Perspectives on Morphological Organization Data and Analyses. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Journalism Studies (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 23 Feb 2017 15:27 |
Last Modified: | 01 Jun 2019 00:38 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/ 10.1163/9789004342934_008 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Brill |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1163/9789004342934_008 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:108723 |