Zipf定律及Zipf语言经济论剖析

Demystifying Zipf’s law and Zipfian linguistic economy theory

Zipf认为,因言者与听者的行为均受最小努力原则支配,双方立场上的省力是一对矛盾,基于言者经济的单一化力量与基于听者经济的多样化力量交锋,造就了语流中词语的一种规则的分布格局,即被后人称为Zipf定律的序号频率分布律(rank-frequency distribution)。然而,根据已达成共识的相关数学研究,Zipf定律另有原理。Zipf的语言经济论因此失去了一项其赖以成立的证据。不仅如此,语言学理性审视下,Zipf语言经济论实则远非无懈可击。立足语言学视角,本文欲解决两个问题:其一,以力求直观的方式对Zipf定律一探究竟,明确该定律并非Zipf所谓两种力量或言者听者双边经济矛盾的产物;其二,为Zipf语言经济论提出去伪存真的评价。

Zipf argues that,because the speaker’s and the auditor’s behaviors are both governed by the principle of least effort,the speaker’s and the auditor’s economies are in conflict,a speaker-based force of unification is in opposition with an auditor-based force of diversification,and the two forces manufactures in speech stream a balanced vocabulary distribution,which is termed by Zipf himself rank-frequency distribution and afterward famously known as Zipf’s law.According to relevant mathematical studies which have established consensus,Zipf’s law is not a product of the principle of least effort.Therefore Zipfian theory of linguistic economy is starved of its vitally important evidence.Moreover and under linguistically rational scrutiny,Zipf’s theory on the two forces and the two-sided economies is far from infallible.This paper intends to develop an intuitive exposition that the Zipf’s law is not a product of the principle of least effort and to undertake a demystifying and critical review of Zipfian theory of linguistic economy.