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Title: Ambiguity resolution and the evolution of homophones in English
Authors: Ogura, M
Wang, WSY 
Issue Date: 2022
Source: 20th International Conference on English Historical Linguistics [ICEHL], University of Edinburgh on 27–31 August 2018, p. 61-90
Abstract: Based on a quantitative study of the evolution of homophones in English, we present an argument about why homophones occur. Zipf's law, which states that word frequency decreases as a power law of its rank, can be seen as the outcome of form-meaning associations, adopted in order to comply with listener and speaker needs. This implies that one form can correspond to many meanings (i.e., polysemy and homophony). We argue that homophony is a desirable feature in communication systems, is stable, and increases through time. When a large number of homophones emerge, however, an impetus to avoid homophones comes into play. We suggest that the evolution of diatones is a case of the avoidance of homophony. Related to this, we examine the neural substrates of bisyllabic noun-verb homophones, using near-infrared spectroscopy. We show that noun and verb categories are represented in different neural substrates in the left hemisphere, and relate this to our historical data, explaining why the actuation of diatone-formation was connected with production in frequent homophones in the 16th century, but was connected with perception in infrequent words after the 17th century.
Keywords: Ambiguity
Diatones
Homophones
Linguistic evolution
Neural substrates
Word frequency
Zipf's law
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
Journal: Amsterdam Studies in the Theory and History of Linguistic Science. Series 4 : Current Issues in Linguistic Theory 
ISBN: 9789027258205 (Electronic)
ISSN: 0304-0763
Rights: © John Benjamins
The following publication Ogura, M., & Wang, W. S. (2022). Ambiguity resolution and the evolution of homophones in English. In B. Los, C. Cowie, P. Honeybone & G. Trousdale (Eds.), English Historical Linguistics: Change in Structure and Meaning. Papers from the XXth ICEHL (pp. 61-90). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. is available at https://dx.doi.org/10.1075/cilt.358.03ogu.
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