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On Zipf’s law and rank distributions in linguistics and semiotics

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Abstract

A number of formulas of linguistic statistics are refined. The notions of real and virtual cardinality of a sign are introduced. We show that a formula refining Zipf’s law for the occurrence frequencies in frequency dictionaries can be extended to arbitrary sign objects, i.e., semiotic systems.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Moscow State University, Russia

    V. P. Maslov

  2. Moscow Institute of Economics, Russia

    T. V. Maslova

Authors
  1. V. P. Maslov
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  2. T. V. Maslova
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Translated from Matematicheskie Zametki, vol. 80, no. 5, 2006, pp. 718–732.

Original Russian Text Copyright © 2006 by V. P. Maslov, T. V. Maslova.

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Maslov, V.P., Maslova, T.V. On Zipf’s law and rank distributions in linguistics and semiotics. Math Notes 80, 679–691 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11006-006-0189-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11006-006-0189-1

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