scholarly journals Numeral Systems Across Languages Support Efficient Communication: From Approximate Numerosity to Recursion

Open Mind ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 57-70
Author(s):  
Yang Xu ◽  
Emmy Liu ◽  
Terry Regier

Languages differ qualitatively in their numeral systems. At one extreme, some languages have a small set of number terms, which denote approximate or inexact numerosities; at the other extreme, many languages have forms for exact numerosities over a very large range, through a recursively defined counting system. Why do numeral systems vary as they do? Here, we use computational analyses to explore the numeral systems of 30 languages that span this spectrum. We find that these numeral systems all reflect a functional need for efficient communication, mirroring existing arguments in other semantic domains such as color, kinship, and space. Our findings suggest that cross-language variation in numeral systems may be understood in terms of a shared functional need to communicate precisely while using minimal cognitive resources.

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert Kwon ◽  
David Lazar ◽  
Srinivas Devadas ◽  
Bryan Ford

Abstract Existing anonymity systems sacrifice anonymity for efficient communication or vice-versa. Onion-routing achieves low latency, high bandwidth, and scalable anonymous communication, but is susceptible to traffic analysis attacks. Designs based on DC-Nets, on the other hand, protect the users against traffic analysis attacks, but sacrifice bandwidth. Verifiable mixnets maintain strong anonymity with low bandwidth overhead, but suffer from high computation overhead instead. In this paper, we present Riffle, a bandwidth and computation efficient communication system with strong anonymity. Riffle consists of a small set of anonymity servers and a large number of users, and guarantees anonymity among all honest clients as long as there exists at least one honest server. Riffle uses a new hybrid verifiable shuffle technique and private information retrieval for bandwidth- and computation-efficient anonymous communication. Our evaluation of Riffle in file sharing and microblogging applications shows that Riffle can achieve a bandwidth of over 100KB/s per user in an anonymity set of 200 users in the case of file sharing, and handle over 100,000 users with less than 10 second latency in the case of microblogging.


Author(s):  
Zimmatul Liviana

The research grammatical interference in a collection ofshort stories Biarkan Aku Memula iwork Nurul F. Hudaisa collection ofshort storiesset in the back that Is start work Let Nurul F. Huda contains many grammatical interference.The problem of this   study were(1)how   the various morphologi calinterference containedin   a   collection of short stories Biarkan Aku Memulai work Nurul F. Huda. (2)how the various syntactic interference contained in a collection of short stories Biarkan Aku Memulai work Nurul F. Huda. The purposeof this studyis to describe the morphological and         Syntactic interference contained in a collection of short stories Biarkan Aku Memulai work Nurul F. Huda. Sociolinguistics is the study of language variation and use in society. Interference is the event of the use of language elements of one into the other language elements that occur in the speakers themselves. This research uses descriptive qualitative method because to describe the actual realityin order to obtainan accurateand objective. Qualitative descriptive methods were used to analyzethe elements ofa word orphrase that incorporated elements of other languages with the analysis and description of the formulation of the problem is the answer. Data collection techniques using observation techniques, the determination ofthe object of research, the selection of short stories.Based on the analysis of the data in this study can be found that there are six forms of interference morphology, namely (1) the prefix nasal N-sound, (2) the addition of the suffix, (3) the exchange prefix, (4) exchange suffixes, (5) exchange konfiks, (6) removal affixes. While the syntactic interference only on the words and phrases in a sentence. The results of the study it can be concluded that the interference morphology more common than syntactic interference.


Author(s):  
Ashwin Sah ◽  
Mehtaab Sawhney ◽  
Yufei Zhao

Abstract Does every $n$-vertex Cayley graph have an orthonormal eigenbasis all of whose coordinates are $O(1/\sqrt{n})$? While the answer is yes for abelian groups, we show that it is no in general. On the other hand, we show that every $n$-vertex Cayley graph (and more generally, vertex-transitive graph) has an orthonormal basis whose coordinates are all $O(\sqrt{\log n / n})$, and that this bound is nearly best possible. Our investigation is motivated by a question of Assaf Naor, who proved that random abelian Cayley graphs are small-set expanders, extending a classic result of Alon–Roichman. His proof relies on the existence of a bounded eigenbasis for abelian Cayley graphs, which we now know cannot hold for general groups. On the other hand, we navigate around this obstruction and extend Naor’s result to nonabelian groups.


2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 403-440 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jérôme Lamy

The TOPEX/POSEIDON satellite mission to observe the oceans triggered the formation of the new specialty of space oceanography from the 1970s to 1990s. Previously, in the 1960s in the United States, traditional oceanographers had shown little interest in the possibilities of space and thus space engineers and physicists worked on the first missions (Seasat in particular). TOPEX/POSEIDON brought together two projects, one American (TOPEX) and the other French (POSEIDON). The gradual crystallization of the disciplinary specialty of space oceanography occurred by making available a platform of instruments able to meet an ensemble of varied needs. Battery failures just before the launch of the joint mission meant that the mission had to focus on the essentials (notably El Niño effects). Subsequently, the discovery of a significant rise in sea levels due to global warming resulted in space oceanography becoming a recognized specialty. The case of TOPEX/POSEIDON shows the original ways in which instruments gained a place in the very large range of oceanographic techniques.


Author(s):  
Geoffrey Schwartz

Abstract Two acoustic studies were carried out with L1 Polish learners of English. One study examined L1 phonetic drift, comparing learners of L2 English who were undergoing intensive L2 phonetic training with quasi-monolingual Polish speakers. The other study looked at L2 acquisition, comparing learners at two different levels of proficiency. Unlike most previous studies of Polish-English bilinguals, VOT data of both voiced and voiceless consonants were analyzed. In both experiments, an asymmetry was observed by which voiced stops were more susceptible to cross-language phonetic influence (CLI) than voiceless stops. These results build on evidence of a similar asymmetry observed in a number of other L1–L2 pairings. Predictions of competing phonological models are evaluated with regard to equivalence classification and phonetic CLI. It is shown that both traditional approaches to the phonological representation of voice contrasts fail to predict the observed asymmetry. An alternative theory, which predicts the asymmetry, is discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (17) ◽  
pp. 6093
Author(s):  
Anna Rabajczyk ◽  
Maria Zielecka ◽  
Daniel Małozięć

In the construction industry, a variety wooden products have been used for thousands of years, according to demand, accessibility/availability, and customers’ requirements. Wood is a preferred material due to its large range of properties, depending on the type of wood. It is an easily available and economically competitive material, and it is also extremely strong in relation to its weight. Therefore, it is used in the production of construction materials, building parts, and finishing components, as well as for furniture and decorative elements. Each of these products is commonly additionally chemically treated in order to improve its performance parameters. However, impregnated wooden products such as furniture and fence boards are often misused, including for house heating, waste incineration, bonfires, etc. For this reason, among the products of combustion, there is a whole range of different chemical compounds, frequently carcinogenic, and dangerous for health and the environment, for example, heavy metals. Knowledge in this field is important for professions, such as: firefighter, lifeguard, people dealing with environmental management, and units responsible for waste landfills. On the other hand, important recipients of this information are ordinary residents who, due to a lack of knowledge, use such materials as e.g., heating material.


Several experiments were devised to find out whether it is possible to measure the internal shearing stresses in a compressed disc, and the conditions under which it is possible to do so. Equations are developed for analysing shear stresses parallel to planes of slip and distortion due to double and single slipping. The relationship between shear stress and amount of shear is found for tensile and for compression specimens, when slipping is confined to one plane. The experimental results in the two cases are identical. The fact that the component of force normal to plane of slip is a pressure in one case and a tension in the other makes no measurable difference to resistance to slipping for given amount of slip. During double slipping resistance to shear increases more rapidly for a given total amount of slipping than when all slip is confined to one plane. The experiments cover a large range and show that resistance to shear goes on increasing up to greatest amounts of distortion used.


2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 580-593 ◽  
Author(s):  
JULIA FESTMAN

Although all bilinguals encounter cross-language interference (CLI), some bilinguals are more susceptible to interference than others. Here, we report on language performance of late bilinguals (Russian/German) on two bilingual tasks (interview, verbal fluency), their language use and switching habits. The only between-group difference was CLI: one group consistently produced significantly more errors of CLI on both tasks than the other (thereby replicating our findings from a bilingual picture naming task). This striking group difference in language control ability can only be explained by differences in cognitive control, not in language proficiency or language mode.


2005 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
JEANINE TREFFERS-DALLER ◽  
RAYMOND MOUGEON

In this Special Issue, the focus is on contact-induced language variation and change in situations of societal bilingualism that involve long-term contact between French and another language. As is well known, when two or more languages are spoken by groups of speakers in the same geographical area, over time, features from one language can be transferred to the other language, especially when the languages in question are unequal in terms of prestige, institutional support and demographic factors. The process that leads to the adoption of such features in the contact languages is generally known as INTERFERENCE or TRANSFER, and these terms are also used to describe the features in question (i.e. the end product of the process of transfer). In this issue we prefer to use the term TRANSFER over the use of the notion INTERFERENCE, as the former has fewer negative connotations than the latter.


2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. 9047-9094 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Di Noia ◽  
O. P. Hasekamp ◽  
G. van Harten ◽  
J. H. H. Rietjens ◽  
J. M. Smit ◽  
...  

Abstract. In this paper, the use of a neural network algorithm for the retrieval of the aerosol properties from ground-based spectropolarimetric measurements is discussed. The neural network is able to retrieve the aerosol properties with an accuracy that is almost comparable to that of an iterative retrieval. By using the outcome of the neural network as a first guess of the iterative retrieval scheme, the accuracy of the fine and coarse mode optical thickness are further improved while for the other parameters the improvement is small or absent. The resulting scheme (neural network + iterative retrieval) is compared to the original one (look-up table + iterative retrieval) on a set of simulated ground-based measurements, and on a small set of real observations carried out by an accurate ground-based spectropolarimeter. The results show that the use of a neural network based first guess leads to an increase in the number of converging retrievals, and possibly to more accurate estimates of the aerosol effective radius and complex refractive index.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document