Zipf's Law
f(r) ∝ r−α
The r-th most common word occurs with frequency proportional to 1/r^α. Remarkably, α≈1 for natural language (Zipf 1935).
Also appears in city sizes, income, earthquake magnitudes. Log-log plot gives a straight line with slope −α.
f(r) ∝ r−α
The r-th most common word occurs with frequency proportional to 1/r^α. Remarkably, α≈1 for natural language (Zipf 1935).
Also appears in city sizes, income, earthquake magnitudes. Log-log plot gives a straight line with slope −α.