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Dialects as Optimal Communication Networks

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 March 2026

Joseph E. Grimes
Joseph E. Grimes*
Affiliation:
Cornell University and Summer Institute of Linguistics
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Abstract

Intelligibility tests between dialects give results with three characteristics that need to be taken into account in their interpretation: asymmetry, sensitivity to changes in threshold, and incompleteness. If we interpret dialects as networks of communication arrived at by optimization, we make adequate use of these properties.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Language , Volume 50 , Issue 2 , June 1974 , pp. 260 - 269
Copyright
Copyright © 1974 Linguistic Society of America

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