Journal of Universal Language
Sejong University Language Research Institue
Article

Redundancy Elimination: The Case of Artificial Languages

Isabella Chiari1
1University of Rome La Sapienza

Copyright ⓒ 2016, Sejong University Language Research Institue. This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Published Online: Jan 01, 2017

Abstract

This paper discusses how artificial languages deal with redundancy at the theoretical level of planning and in their actual textual manifestations. After a brief introduction to the notion of redundancy in linguistics and information theory, we propose a new definition, under the light of which we observe different expressions in artificial languages, mostly Esperanto. Redundancy is strictly connected to predictability, uneven frequencies, functional asymmetries and syntagmatic constraints. In natural languages it represents a constitutive principle of communication, being present in all semiotic systems, including animal communication. What happens in artificial languages? Is redundancy expression a topic of discussion in language planning? How does it manifest in languages like Esperanto? A review of some of the major issues in language design is presented, underlining which features of redundancy can be eliminated and which are constitutive of any language, whether natural or artificial. Redundancy of graphemic systems, distributional redundancy of phonotactics, allomorphy, agreement and government as expressions of functional redundancy, and word order distributional properties will be considered as key manifestations of redundancy, observing how they are portrayed in planned languages.

Keywords: redundancy; information; natural languages; artificial languages; international languages; language construction

References

1.

Barnard, A. 1955. Statistical Calculation of Word Entropies for Four Western Languages. IRE Transactions in Information Theory 1, 49-53.

2.

Bernasconi, E. 1977. The Neo-Romance Languages. Esperanto aý Interlingua 86-110. La Chaux-de-fonds: Kultura Centro Esperantista.

3.

Chiari, I. 2002. Ridondanza Linguaggio. Un Principio Costitutivo delle Lingue, Rome: Carocci.

4.

Cohen, M. 1963. Problème de la surabondance dans le langage. Le Courrier Rationaliste 4, 60-66.

5.

Cohen, M. 1969. Quelques vues sur les équilibres linguistiques. In J. Dierick & Y. Lebrun (eds.), Linguistique contemporaine: Hommage à eric buyssens, Éditions de l'institut de sociologie, Paris, 19-25.

6.

De Mauro, T. 1998. Linguistica Elementare. Bari-Roma: Laterza.

7.

Dressler, W. 1969a, Die Erhaltung der Redundanz. Lateinische Beispiele für ein Wenig Beachtetes Prinzip der Sprachentwicklung. Studia Classica et Orientalia Antonino Pagliaro Oblata 2, 73-84.

8.

Dressler, W. 1969b. Zur Plansprachlichen Redundanz. Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften 106, 274-80.

9.

Ellis, N. 2002a. Frequency Effects in Language Processing. A Review with Implications for Theories of Implicit and Explicit Language Acquisition. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 24, 143-188.

10.

Ellis, N. 2002b. Reflections on Frequency Effects in Language Processing. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 24, 297-339.

11.

Gilbert, W. 1962. Planlingvaj Problemoj. La Laguna: Régulo.

12.

Gillette, M. & Wit C. 1999. What is Linguistic Redundancy. Technical Report. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago.

13.

Grice, P. 1975. Logic and Conversation. In P. Cole & J. Morgan (eds.), Syntax and Semantics 3, 41-58. New York: Academic Press.

14.

Guiraud, P. 1968, Langage et Théorie de la Communication. In A. Martinet (éd.), Le Langage 145-68. Paris: Encyclopédie de la Pléiade.

15.

Herring, J. 2005. Syntactic and Lexical Changes in Esperanto: A Corpus-based Survey. 2nd Midwest Computational Linguistics Colloquium. Küpfmüller, K. 1954. Die Entopie der Deutschen Sprache. Fernmeldetechnische Zeitung 7, 265-272.

16.

Lindblom, B. 1990. Explaining Phonetic Variation: A Sketch of the H & H Theory. In W. Hardcastle & A. Marcha (eds.), Speech Production and Speech Modelling 403-439. Dordrecht: Kluver Academic Press.

17.

Lyons J. 1968. Introduction to Theoretical Linguistics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

18.

Manaris, B., L. Pellicoro, G. Pothering & H. Hodges. 2006. Investigating Esperanto's Statistical Proportions Relative to Other Languages Using Neural Networks and Zipf's Law. Proceedings of the 24th IASTED International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Applications, 102-108.

19.

Manfrino L. 1960. The Entropy of the Italian Language and its Computation. Alta Frequenza 29, 4-29.

20.

Martinet, A. 1955. L'Économie des changements linguistiques, Berne: Franck.

21.

Martinet, A. 1985. Syntaxe Générale. Paris: Armand Colin.

22.

Mel'čuk, I. 1994. Suppletion: Toward a Logical Analysis of the Concept. Studies in Language 18, 339-410.

23.

Meyer-Eppler, W. 1952. Informationstheorie. Die Naturwissenschaften 39, 340-52.

24.

Moles, A. 1958. Théorie de l'information et perception esthétique. Paris : Flammarion.

25.

Nicholas, N. 2002. Folk Functionalism in Artificial Languages: The Long Distance Reflective Vo'a in Lojban. Journal of Universal Language 3, 133-167.

26.

Oostendorp, M. 1999. Syllable Structure in Esperanto as an Instantiation of Universal Phonology. Esperantologio Esperanto Studies 1, 52-80.

27.

Pulgram, E. 1983. The Reduction and Elimination of Redundancy. In F. Agard et al. (eds.), Essays in Honor of Charles Hockett, 107-125. Šabršula J. 1975. Redondance et Économie. Acta Universitatis Carolinae, Philologica, Romantica, Pragensia 9, 101-24.

28.

Sapir, E. 1925. The Function of an International Auxiliary Language. In H. Shenton, E. Sapir & O. Jespersen (eds.), International Communication: A Symposium on the Language Problem, 65-94.

29.

Saussure, F. 1916. Cour de linguistique générale, Edition critique préparée par tullio de mauro. Paris :Payot.

30.

Shannon C. 1951. The Prediction and Entropy of Printed English. Bell System Technical Journal 30, 50-64.

31.

Shannon, E. & W. Weaver. 1949. The Mathematical Theory of Communication, Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.

32.

Sherwood, A. 1982a. Statistical Analysis of Conversational Esperanto with Discussion on the Accusative. Studies in the Linguistic Sciences 12. 1, 165-182.

33.

Sherwood, A. 1982b. Variation in Esperanto. Studies in the Linguistic Sciences 12. 1, 183-196.

34.

Slama-Cazacu, T. 1962. L'économie et la redondance dans la communication. Cahier de linguistique theorique et appliquée 1, 17-25. Wells, J. 1978. Lingvistikaj Aspektoj de Esperanto. Rotterdam: UEA.

35.

Zipf. K. 1935. The Psycho-biology of Language: An Introduction to Dynamic Philology, Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co.

36.

Zipf. K. 1949. Human Behavior and the Principle of Least Effort, Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley Press.