Linguistic research in the empirical paradigm as outlined by Mario Bunge

Zielińska, Dorota

doi:10.1186/s40064-016-2684-5

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…In Chomskyan terms, our results suggest that linguistic laws come from non-symbolic principles of language performance, rather than symbolic principles of language representation. Also, we believe the physical hypothesis allows a more objective analysis within theoretical linguistics—including the classical debate on linguistic universals—and avoids many espistemological problems [97]. For instance, this paradigm does not negate the symbolism of language, much on the contrary it ultimately aims at explaining its origin without any needs to postulate it a priori .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the physical origin of linguistic laws and lognormality in speech

et al. 2019

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Physical manifestations of linguistic units include sources of variability due to factors of speech production which are by definition excluded from counts of linguistic symbols. In this work, we examine whether linguistic laws hold with respect to the physical manifestations of linguistic units in spoken English. The data we analyse come from a phonetically transcribed database of acoustic recordings of spontaneous speech known as the Buckeye Speech corpus. First, we verify with unprecedented accuracy that acoustically transcribed durations of linguistic units at several scales comply with a lognormal distribution, and we quantitatively justify this ‘lognormality law’ using a stochastic generative model. Second, we explore the four classical linguistic laws (Zipf’s Law, Herdan’s Law, Brevity Law and Menzerath–Altmann’s Law (MAL)) in oral communication, both in physical units and in symbolic units measured in the speech transcriptions, and find that the validity of these laws is typically stronger when using physical units than in their symbolic counterpart. Additional results include (i) coining a Herdan’s Law in physical units, (ii) a precise mathematical formulation of Brevity Law, which we show to be connected to optimal compression principles in information theory and allows to formulate and validate yet another law which we call the size-rank law or (iii) a mathematical derivation of MAL which also highlights an additional regime where the law is inverted. Altogether, these results support the hypothesis that statistical laws in language have a physical origin.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the physical origin of linguistic laws and lognormality in speech

et al. 2019

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“…Existing qualitative studies have described the profound impact of VI during childhood and adolescence, showing that children and young people living with VI experience challenges participating in age-appropriate activities, such as reading, watching live sports or concerts, or playing outdoor games, and are subsequently unable to pursue the activities they enjoy the most [ 8 , 9 ]. A robust evidence base documents the impact of VI on aspects of cognitive [ 10 , 11 ], social [ 12 , 13 ], and sensorimotor [ 14 ] development, demonstrating developmental delay among those diagnosed with VI early during childhood [ 15 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

This is me: A qualitative investigation of young people’s experience of growing up with visual impairment

2021

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Background Childhood visual impairment (VI) has a profound impact on many aspects of childhood and adolescence. This is well-documented in cross-sectional and/or quantitative studies utilizing self-report instruments which compare children with and without VI. Young people’s views on the experience of growing up with VI as a developmental, change-driven process remain largely unexplored. Methods As part of our broader research programme on quality of life of visually impaired children and young people in the United Kingdom, in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted between March and June 2015, with a stratified sample of 17 young people with VI, aged 16–19 years. An age-sensitive, empirically-based topic guide encouraged retrospective reflections on participants’ experiences of growing up with VI, including age-normative and vision-specific challenges. Results Descriptions of growing up with VI largely centered on an overarching higher-order theme labelled becoming me. Four themes representing everyday activities, attitudes, preferences and perceptions in relation to i) social relationships, ii) independence and responsibilities, iii) the future, and iv) rising to challenges emerged and were used by participants in their description of three stages in which they developed a sense of self: i) laying the foundations, ii) testing the waters, and iii) this is me. Differences in manifestation of VI influenced how young people made sense of their experiences and their sense of self. Conclusions Findings are discussed in relation to normative and vision-specific changes in psychosocial development during adolescence, including the development of identity. They highlight the need for ongoing monitoring of subjective well-being in a clinical population with a unique early life course trajectory.

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The Field Model of Language and Free Enrichment

Zielińska

2019

Further Advances in Pragmatics and Philosophy: Part 2 Theories and Applications

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Linguistic research in the empirical paradigm as outlined by Mario Bunge

Cited by 4 publications

References 20 publications

On the physical origin of linguistic laws and lognormality in speech

On the physical origin of linguistic laws and lognormality in speech

This is me: A qualitative investigation of young people’s experience of growing up with visual impairment

The Field Model of Language and Free Enrichment

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