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A model for estimating the occurrence of same‐frequency words and the boundary between high‐ and low‐frequency words in texts

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  • Qinglan Sun
  • Debora Shaw
  • Charles H. Davis

Abstract

A simpler model is proposed for estimating the frequency of any same‐frequency words and identifying the boundary point between high‐frequency words and low‐frequency words in a text. The model, based on a “maximum ranking method,” assigns ranks to the words and estimates word frequency by the formula: Int[(−1 + (1 + 4D/In+1)1/2)/2] > n* ≥ Int[(−1 + (1 + 4D/In)1/2)/2]. The boundary value between high‐frequency and low‐frequency words is obtained by taking the square root of the number of different words in the text: n* = (D)1/2. This straightforward model was used successfully with both English and Chinese texts, demonstrating that the frequency of words and the number of same‐frequency words are dependent only on the vocabulary of a text (the number of different words) but not on its length. Like Zipf's Law, the model may be universally applicable.

Suggested Citation

  • Qinglan Sun & Debora Shaw & Charles H. Davis, 1999. "A model for estimating the occurrence of same‐frequency words and the boundary between high‐ and low‐frequency words in texts," Journal of the American Society for Information Science, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 50(3), pages 280-286.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jamest:v:50:y:1999:i:3:p:280-286
    DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-4571(1999)50:33.0.CO;2-H
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