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Chapter 11. Measuring informativity

The rise of compounds as informationally dense structures in 20th-century Scientific English
  • Stefania Degaetano-Ortlieb
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Corpus-based Approaches to Register Variation
This chapter is in the book Corpus-based Approaches to Register Variation

Abstract

By applying data-driven methods based on information theory, this study adds to previous work on the development of the scientific register by measuring the informativity of alternative phrasal structures shown to be involved in change in language use in 20th-century Scientific English. The analysis based on data-driven periodization shows compounds to be distinctive grammatical structures from the 1920s onwards in Proceedings A of the Royal Society of London. Compounds not only increase in frequency, but also show higher informativity than their less dense prepositional counterparts. Results also show that the lower the informativity of particular items, the more alternative, more informationally dense options might be favoured (e.g., of-phrases vs. compounds) – striving for communicative efficiency thus being one force shaping the scientific register.

Abstract

By applying data-driven methods based on information theory, this study adds to previous work on the development of the scientific register by measuring the informativity of alternative phrasal structures shown to be involved in change in language use in 20th-century Scientific English. The analysis based on data-driven periodization shows compounds to be distinctive grammatical structures from the 1920s onwards in Proceedings A of the Royal Society of London. Compounds not only increase in frequency, but also show higher informativity than their less dense prepositional counterparts. Results also show that the lower the informativity of particular items, the more alternative, more informationally dense options might be favoured (e.g., of-phrases vs. compounds) – striving for communicative efficiency thus being one force shaping the scientific register.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Acknowledgements vii
  4. Biographical notes ix
  5. Chapter 1. A corpus-based approach to register variation 1
  6. Chapter 2. Extending text-linguistic studies of register variation to a continuous situational space 19
  7. Chapter 3. How register-specific is probabilistic grammatical knowledge? 51
  8. Chapter 4. Theme as a proxy for register categorization 85
  9. Chapter 5. Between context and community 111
  10. Chapter 6. A register variation perspective on varieties of English 143
  11. Chapter 7. Register and modification in the noun phrase 179
  12. Chapter 8. A register approach toward pop lyrics in EFL education 209
  13. Chapter 9. On the importance of register in learner writing 235
  14. Chapter 10. Nominalizations in Early Modern English 259
  15. Chapter 11. Measuring informativity 291
  16. Chapter 12. Exploring sub-register variation in Victorian newspapers 313
  17. Index 339
https://doi.org/10.1075/scl.103.11deg

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Acknowledgements vii
  4. Biographical notes ix
  5. Chapter 1. A corpus-based approach to register variation 1
  6. Chapter 2. Extending text-linguistic studies of register variation to a continuous situational space 19
  7. Chapter 3. How register-specific is probabilistic grammatical knowledge? 51
  8. Chapter 4. Theme as a proxy for register categorization 85
  9. Chapter 5. Between context and community 111
  10. Chapter 6. A register variation perspective on varieties of English 143
  11. Chapter 7. Register and modification in the noun phrase 179
  12. Chapter 8. A register approach toward pop lyrics in EFL education 209
  13. Chapter 9. On the importance of register in learner writing 235
  14. Chapter 10. Nominalizations in Early Modern English 259
  15. Chapter 11. Measuring informativity 291
  16. Chapter 12. Exploring sub-register variation in Victorian newspapers 313
  17. Index 339
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