Word Reuse and Combination Support Efficient Communication

@cite{xu-etal-2024}

Xu, A., Kemp, C., Frermann, L., & Xu, Y. (2024). Word reuse and combination support efficient communication of emerging concepts. PNAS 121(46), e2406971121.

Empirical Contributions

Using WordNet data from English, French, and Finnish (1900–2000):

1. Both reuse items and compounds sit near the Pareto frontier of communicative efficiency (Fig. 2)
2. Attested encodings are more efficient than random and near-synonym baselines (Fig. 3)
3. Literal items (hyponymic reuse, endocentric compounds) are more efficient than nonliteral counterparts (§Item-Level Variation)
4. Reuse items tend shorter; compounds tend more informative (§Strategy Comparison)

Connection to Polysemy

Word reuse IS polysemy generation: when "mouse" acquires the sense "computer peripheral", the word becomes polysemous. This study provides an information-theoretic explanation for WHY productive polysemy exists — it is communicatively efficient. This bridges Phenomena.Polysemy.Data (synchronic copredication judgments) to a diachronic functional account.

def Phenomena.Polysemy.englishReuse : List Diachronic.Lexicalization.FormConceptPair

English reuse items from Table 1.

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def Phenomena.Polysemy.englishCompounds : List Diachronic.Lexicalization.FormConceptPair

English compounds from Table 1.

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def Phenomena.Polysemy.frenchReuse : List Diachronic.Lexicalization.FormConceptPair

French reuse items.

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def Phenomena.Polysemy.frenchCompounds : List Diachronic.Lexicalization.FormConceptPair

French compounds.

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theorem Phenomena.Polysemy.english_reuse_shorter : (List.map (fun (x : Diachronic.Lexicalization.FormConceptPair) => x.formLength) englishReuse).sum / englishReuse.length < (List.map (fun (x : Diachronic.Lexicalization.FormConceptPair) => x.formLength) englishCompounds).sum / englishCompounds.length

Reuse items are shorter on average than compounds. @cite{xu-etal-2024} §Strategy Comparison: holds across all three languages and all time intervals.

theorem Phenomena.Polysemy.both_literalities : (englishReuse.any fun (x : Diachronic.Lexicalization.FormConceptPair) => x.literality == Diachronic.Lexicalization.Literality.literal) = true ∧ (englishReuse.any fun (x : Diachronic.Lexicalization.FormConceptPair) => x.literality == Diachronic.Lexicalization.Literality.nonliteral) = true ∧ (englishCompounds.any fun (x : Diachronic.Lexicalization.FormConceptPair) => x.literality == Diachronic.Lexicalization.Literality.literal) = true ∧ (englishCompounds.any fun (x : Diachronic.Lexicalization.FormConceptPair) => x.literality == Diachronic.Lexicalization.Literality.nonliteral) = true

Both strategies include literal and nonliteral items.

def Phenomena.Polysemy.reuseIsPolysemyGeneration : List Diachronic.Lexicalization.FormConceptPair → List String

Word reuse creates polysemy: the reused word acquires a new sense alongside its existing one. This connects the diachronic process of lexicalization to the synchronic phenomenon of polysemy.

The copredication data in Phenomena.Polysemy.Data captures the synchronic consequence of reuse (multiple aspects coexist); this paper explains the diachronic cause (efficiency pressure).

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theorem Phenomena.Polysemy.all_english_reuse_creates_polysemy : (reuseIsPolysemyGeneration englishReuse).length = englishReuse.length

All reuse items in the English data generate polysemy.