Computer Science – Computation and Language
Scientific paper
2012-04-12
Computer Science
Computation and Language
Scientific paper
In this paper we present statistical analysis of English texts from Wikipedia (WP). We try to address the issue of language complexity empirically by comparing samples of the main English WP (Main) and the simple English WP (Simple). Simple is supposed to use a more simplified language with a limited vocabulary, and editors are explicitly requested to follow this guideline, yet in practice the vocabulary richness of both samples are at the same level. However, detailed analysis of longer units (n-grams rather than words alone) shows that the language of Simple is indeed less complex than that of Main. Comparing the two language varieties by the Gunning readability index supports this conclusion. We also report on the topical dependence of language complexity, e.g. that the language is more advanced in conceptual articles compared to person-based (biographical) and object-based articles. Finally, we investigate the relation between conflict and language complexity by analysing the content of the talk pages associated to controversial and peacefully developing articles, concluding that controversy has the effect of reducing language complexity.
Kertesz Janos
Kornai András
Yasseri Taha
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