Statistical physics of language maps in the USA

J. Burridge, B. Vaux, M. Gnacik, and Y. Grudeva
Phys. Rev. E 99, 032305 – Published 14 March 2019

Abstract

Spatial linguistic surveys often reveal well-defined geographical zones where certain linguistic forms are dominant over their alternatives. It has been suggested that these patterns may be understood by analogy with coarsening in models of two-dimensional physical systems. Here we investigate this connection by comparing data from the Cambridge Online Survey of World Englishes to the behavior of a generalized zero temperature Potts model with long-range interactions. The relative displacements of linguistically similar population centers reveal enhanced east-west affinity. Cluster analysis reveals three distinct linguistic zones. We find that when the interaction kernel is made anisotropic by stretching along the east-west axis, the model can reproduce the three linguistic zones for all interaction parameters tested. The model results are consistent with a view held by some linguists that, in the USA, language use is, or has been, exchanged or transmitted to a greater extent along the east-west axis than the north-south.

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  • Received 22 November 2018
  • Revised 5 February 2019

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.99.032305

©2019 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Interdisciplinary PhysicsNetworksStatistical Physics & Thermodynamics

Authors & Affiliations

J. Burridge1,*, B. Vaux2, M. Gnacik1, and Y. Grudeva1

  • 1School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 3HF, United Kingdom
  • 2Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 9DA, United Kingdom

  • *james.burridge@port.ac.uk

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Vol. 99, Iss. 3 — March 2019

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