Graphical law beneath each written natural language
This work suggests a potential universal pattern in written languages, which could interest linguists and physicists, but it is incremental as it primarily reports an observational similarity without new methods or broad impact.
The authors analyzed 24 written natural languages by plotting normalized word counts starting with each letter against letter rank on a log scale, finding that all graphs closely resemble reduced magnetization vs. reduced temperature curves from magnetic materials. They propose a weak conjecture that magnetization-like curves underlie written natural languages.
We study twenty four written natural languages. We draw in the log scale, number of words starting with a letter vs rank of the letter, both normalised. We find that all the graphs are of the similar type. The graphs are tantalisingly closer to the curves of reduced magnetisation vs reduced temperature for magnetic materials. We make a weak conjecture that a curve of magnetisation underlies a written natural language.