Is language evolution grinding to a halt?
The scaling of lexical turbulence in English fiction suggests it is not.
Eitan Adam Pechenick,
Christopher M. Danforth,
and
Peter Sheridan Dodds
Jensen-Shannon Divergence word shift figures for consecutive decades and varying relative frequency thresholds:
1820s to 1830s, threshold = 10-4
1820s to 1830s, threshold = 10-5
1820s to 1830s, threshold = 10-6
1830s to 1840s, threshold = 10-4
1830s to 1840s, threshold = 10-5
1830s to 1840s, threshold = 10-6
1840s to 1850s, threshold = 10-4
1840s to 1850s, threshold = 10-5
1840s to 1850s, threshold = 10-6
1850s to 1860s, threshold = 10-4
1850s to 1860s, threshold = 10-5
1850s to 1860s, threshold = 10-6
1860s to 1870s, threshold = 10-4
1860s to 1870s, threshold = 10-5
1860s to 1870s, threshold = 10-6
1870s to 1880s, threshold = 10-4
1870s to 1880s, threshold = 10-5
1870s to 1880s, threshold = 10-6
1880s to 1890s, threshold = 10-4
1880s to 1890s, threshold = 10-5
1880s to 1890s, threshold = 10-6
1890s to 1900s, threshold = 10-4
1890s to 1900s, threshold = 10-5
1890s to 1900s, threshold = 10-6
1900s to 1910s, threshold = 10-4
1900s to 1910s, threshold = 10-5
1900s to 1910s, threshold = 10-6
1910s to 1920s, threshold = 10-4
1910s to 1920s, threshold = 10-5
1910s to 1920s, threshold = 10-6
1920s to 1930s, threshold = 10-4
1920s to 1930s, threshold = 10-5
1920s to 1930s, threshold = 10-6
1930s to 1940s, threshold = 10-4
1930s to 1940s, threshold = 10-5
1930s to 1940s, threshold = 10-6
1940s to 1950s, threshold = 10-4
1940s to 1950s, threshold = 10-5
1940s to 1950s, threshold = 10-6
1950s to 1960s, threshold = 10-4
1950s to 1960s, threshold = 10-5
1950s to 1960s, threshold = 10-6
1960s to 1970s, threshold = 10-4
1960s to 1970s, threshold = 10-5
1960s to 1970s, threshold = 10-6
1970s to 1980s, threshold = 10-4
1970s to 1980s, threshold = 10-5
1970s to 1980s, threshold = 10-6
1980s to 1990s, threshold = 10-4
1980s to 1990s, threshold = 10-5
1980s to 1990s, threshold = 10-6