ArticlePloS one2023
Cross-linguistic conditions on word length.
Article in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Saccade length consistency during reading and shape-scanning.Attention, perception & psychophysics · 2026Article
- Article
- Tone and word length across languages.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Based on a dataset representing close to ¾ of the world's languages we investigate differences among languages and between items on the Swadesh list with regard to mean word length from a linguistic typological point of view. Mapping the world-wide distribution of word length shows convergence at a continent-wide level, a Pacific Rim signature, and a tendency for large word length averages to be a recessive trait. The amount of data, which is unparalleled in previous, related studies, allows us to provide more solid estimates and accounts for the interrelationships between word length, phoneme segment inventory size, and population size than was previously possible. Word length differences between items exhibit robust, universal tendencies, which are discussed in relation to other quantities, including stability, synonymy, and attestation.
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Registered trials
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