Linguistic laws in biology. (January 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Semple, Stuart; Ferrer-i-Cancho, Ramon; Gustison, Morgan L.
• Is Part Of: Trends in ecology & evolution. Volume 37:Number 1(2022)
• Page Start: 53
• Page End: 66
• Publication Date: 2022-01
• Subjects: Zipf -- Menzerath -- communication -- compression -- information theory; Ecology -- Periodicals; Evolution (Biology) -- Periodicals; 576.8
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2021.08.012
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0169-5347

Abstract

Abstract : Linguistic laws, the common statistical patterns of human language, have been investigated by quantitative linguists for nearly a century. Recently, biologists from a range of disciplines have started to explore the prevalence of these laws beyond language, finding patterns consistent with linguistic laws across multiple levels of biological organisation, from molecular (genomes, genes, and proteins) to organismal (animal behaviour) to ecological (populations and ecosystems). We propose a new conceptual framework for the study of linguistic laws in biology, comprising and integrating distinct levels of analysis, from description to prediction to theory building. Adopting this framework will provide critical new insights into the fundamental rules of organisation underpinning natural systems, unifying linguistic laws and core theory in biology. Highlights: Linguistic laws refer to statistical patterns shared across human languages. Investigation of these patterns has been extended to a range of biological systems, from molecules to organisms to ecosystems, with the number of studies increasing in recent years. Linguistic laws and established concepts in different fields of biology may describe similar, or even identical, patterns, providing an opportunity for unification of natural and language sciences. We propose an overarching framework, which shifts the emphasis from exploring and describing linguistic laws, to identifying underlying mechanisms, generating predictions, and ultimately developing general theory about the organisation of biological systems. This potential to develop new theory for understanding the natural world will only be realised through cross-fertilisation of ideas between researchers working in diverse disciplines and focussed on different levels of biological organisation.