Networks in the mental lexicon – contributions from Hungarian
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László Kovács
,
Katalin Orosz
Abstract
Connections between the units of the mental lexicon store information as complex networks, where nodes represent words. With the emergence of network science characteristics of this mental network can be quantified. Present paper investigates the network structure of the mental lexicon of a non-Indo-European language, Hungarian, using a word association database which collected word association data online. The data is examined with statistical measures of networks: path length and degree centrality are calculated. Comparing the network characteristics of the database to the English South Florida Word Association Database we found that both networks display similar characteristics. We show that the central elements of the two databases are the same words (5 out of 7) and that the most central element in the Hungarian database is money, regardless the used centrality measure. The Hungarian database possesses a single, highly connected core, which defines the network properties of the whole database. This connected core is responsible for the short paths inside the lexicon.
Funding source: Hungarian National Research, Development, and Innovation Office
Award Identifier / Grant number: K 128780
Acknowledgment
We would like to thank Tamás Vicsek and Gergely Palla for the useful advices. The founders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
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Research funding: This research was partially supported by the Hungarian National Research, Development, and Innovation Office (grant no. K 128780).
The first 100 words presented in the software ConnectYourMind (Agykapocs) with English translations. Read from the top down. N = noun, V = verb, A = adjective.
| alma | apple | vállalkozás | enterprise/company | szín | color (N) | választás | election (N) |
| ember | human | szék | chair (furniture) | újság | newspaper/news | ár | price |
| barátság | friendship | motor | engine/motorbike | sok | many | környezet | enviroment |
| hitel | loan/credit | nyelv | language/tongue | venni | buy (V) | aludni | sleep (V) |
| szép | beautyful | tudás | knowledge | információ | information | nevetni | laugh (V) |
| piros | red | reklám | advertisement | politikus | politician | nyár | summer |
| könyv | book (N) | foci | football/soccer | mosoly | smile (N) | kevés | few |
| ünnepelni | celebrate (V) | inni | drink (V) | vám | customs | kutya | dog |
| autó | car | diploma | degree/diploma | bolt | shop (N) | Magyarország | Hungary |
| biztonság | security | sport | sport (N) | állat | animal | Áfa | VAT |
| tőzsde | stock exchange | pénz | money | tiszta | clean (A) | hobbi | hobby |
| szépség | beauty | kenyér | bread (N) | számítógép | computer | gazdaság | economy |
| politika | politics | bevásárolni | purchase/shop (V) | divat | fashion (N) | szabadidő | free time |
| Tv | tv | manager | manager | marketing | marketing | fordítás | translating/translation |
| olvasni | read (V) | wellness | wellness | kórház | hospital | határ | border (N) |
| drága | expensive | adó | tax (N) | bankkártya | ATM card | vizsga | exam (N) |
| email (N) | olcsó | cheap | Európa | Europe | öröm | joy (N) | |
| vidám | happy | szabad | free (A) | film | film (N) | múlt | past |
| szerelem | love (N) | teve | camel | gyűlölni | hate (V) | orvos | doctor/physician |
| bank | bank (N) | hír | news | egészség | health | euró | Euro |
| segíteni | help (V) | enni | eat (V) | étel | food | kedves | nice/lovely |
| mobil | mobile | gazdag | rich | Internet | internet | piszkos | dirty |
| zöld | green | tolmácsolás | interpreting | sokkolni | shock (V) | világ | world |
| nyaralás | holiday | környezetvédelem | environmental protection | kereskedelem | trade (N) | új | new |
| ajándék | present/gift (N) | fizetés | wage/salary | hangulat | mood | remény | hope (N) |
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Articles
- Networks in the mental lexicon – contributions from Hungarian
- Literary “higher dimensions” quantified: a stylometric study of nine stories
- A corpus-driven description of when-adverbial in Nigerian and British Englishes
- Synergetik der Dekodierung von Substantiv-Neubildungen in Satzstrukturen des Deutschen
- Deutsch-ukrainische Sprachkontakte in der Bukowina
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Articles
- Networks in the mental lexicon – contributions from Hungarian
- Literary “higher dimensions” quantified: a stylometric study of nine stories
- A corpus-driven description of when-adverbial in Nigerian and British Englishes
- Synergetik der Dekodierung von Substantiv-Neubildungen in Satzstrukturen des Deutschen
- Deutsch-ukrainische Sprachkontakte in der Bukowina
