Human beings as a species is quite unique to this biological world for they are
\nthe only organisms known to be capable of thinking, communicating and pre-
\nserving potentially an in\u00afnite number of ideas that form the pillars of modern
\ncivilization. This unique ability is a consequence of the complex and powerful
\nhuman languages characterized by their recursive syntax and compositional
\nsemantics [40]. It has been argued that language is a dynamic complex adap-
\ntive system that has evolved through the process of self-organization to serve
\nthe purpose of human communication needs [80]. The complexity of human
\nlanguages have always attracted the attention of physicists, who have tried to
\nexplain several linguistic phenomena through models of physical systems (see
\ne.g., [32, 42]).
\nLike any physical system, a linguistic system (i.e., a language) can be
\nviewed from three di\u00aeerent perspectives [52]. On one extreme, a language is a
\ncollection of utterances that are produced by the speakers of a linguistic com-
\nmunity during the course of their interactions with other speakers of the same
\ncommunity. This is analogous to the microscopic view of a thermodynamic
\nsystem, where every utterance and its corresponding context contributes to
\nthe identity of the language, i.e., the grammar. On the other extreme, a lan-
\nguage can be characterized by a set of grammar rules and a vocabulary. This
\nis analogous to a macroscopic view. Sandwiched between these two extremes,
\none can also conceive of a mesoscopic view of language, where linguistic enti-
\nties, such as the letters, words or phrases are the basic units and the grammar
\nis an emergent property of the interactions among them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Human beings as a species is quite unique to this biological world for they are the only organisms known to be capable of thinking, communicating and pre- serving potentially an in\u00afnite number of ideas that form the pillars of modern civilization. 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