How the English language has evolved like a living creature

Some linguists think of language as a living thing: It grows and changes, and every time a child learns it, the language reproduces itself. Now, a team of researchers is using the analogy of evolution to explain language change, arguing that key factors in biological evolution—like natural selection and genetic drift—have parallels in how languages change over time. And it turns out that the random changes, known as “drift” in biology, may have played an outsized role in the evolution of the English language.

Historians of English have long acknowledged that social and cognitive factors shape language over time. For example, languages lose irregular verb conjugations or other word forms that are hard to remember. And certain words or pronunciations get used because they are associated with people who have status and power—think about how new arrivals adopt the local accent in order to fit in. These pressures on language are based on concrete factors, similar to the biological pressures of natural selection.

But that explanation didn’t satisfy University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) evolutionary biologist Joshua Plotkin. He was puzzled by oddities such as a growing preference for the word “clarity” over its synonym “clearness.” According to standard linguistic theory, “clearness” should be more common because adding “-ness” is an easy-to-remember rule for making a noun out of an adjective. But that’s not what happened in English. “As an outsider,” Plotkin says, “this increase seemed at odds with the notion that language … regularize[s] over time.” So he decided to roll up his sleeves and apply some theories from evolutionary biology.

With another evolutionary biologist and two linguists from UPenn, he analyzed three databases of historical English together containing more than 400 million words and ranging from 1100 C.E. to the 21st century. The researchers used statistical methods from population genetics to analyze three well-known changes in the English language: how past-tense verbs in American English have taken the “-ed” ending, (as when “spilt” became “spilled”), how the word “do” became an auxiliary verb in Early Modern English (as in “Did you sing?”), and how negative sentences were made in Old to Early Modern English.

They found that selection was the likely cause of how negative sentence structures changed over time (like how the Old English “Ic ne secge” became the Early Modern English “I say not”). But the two other changes were likely the results of random drift, they write today in a letter published in Nature. That’s because, rather than having an even rate of change, the frequencies of alternative forms changed in fits and starts—jagged fluctuations that were obvious in the data set. When it came to the verbs, they found that drift’s influence was stronger when the verb was less frequent. Only six past tense changes in their data set, such as “lighted” to “lit,” were deemed to have changed for purposeful reasons, such as being easier to learn and use.

Explain how the English language evolved

4.10 Branching Practice 2 - Python Exercise

#Write the code for the following
#Exercise 1
#Ask the user to input a name using an input statement (no prompt) and assign it to a variable
#Condition: user input is equal to 'Joseph'
#Action: display the user input on screen

#Exercise 2
#Ask the user to input his/her first name using an input statement (no prompt) and assign it to a variable
#Condition: user input is equal to 'Joseph'
#Action: display the following phrase (tip: use a concatenator): The name is: [user entered name]

#Exercise 3
#Ask the user to input his/her first name using an input statement (no prompt) and assign it to a variable
#Condition: user input is not equal to 'Joseph'
#Action: display the following phrase, The name is: [user entered name]
#Condition: All other conditions
#Action: display the following phrase as exact text: Expected name was Joseph!

#Exercise 4
#Ask the user to input a year using an input statement (no prompt) and assign it to a variable
#Convert the user input to an integer and assign it to a variable
#Condition: user entry is greater than or equal to 1996
#Action: display the following word on screen: GenZ
#Condition: user entry is greater than or equal to 1979
#Action: display the following word on screen: GenY
#Condition: user entry is greater than or equal to 1964
#Action: display the following word on screen: GenX
#Condition: all other conditions
#Action: display the following phrase on screen: Baby boomer or older

#Exercise 5
#Use an input statement to ask the user for his/her age (no prompt) and assign the user entry to a variable
#Convert the user input to an integer and assign it to a variable
#Write if-elif-else statements with the following conditions and actions
#Condition: user input less than or equal to 9 Action: display on screen: Only G is appropriate
#Condition: user input less than or equal to 12 Action: display on screen: Ok for PG
#Condition: user input less than or equal to 16 Action: display on screen: Ok for PG-13
#Condition: all other conditions Action: display on screen: Ok for R
#Regardless of condition, display the following as the last line: Thanks for checking!

#Exercise 6
#Use an input statement to ask the user for his/her age (no prompt) and assign the user entry to a variable
#Convert the user input to an integer and assign to a variable
#Write if-elif-else statements with the following conditions and actions
#Important: For each Action below, use the same variable name for the rating in all the if, elif, and else statements
#Condition: user input less than or equal to 9 Action: assign the letter G as a string to a variable
#Condition: user input less than or equal to 12 Action: assign the letters PG as a string to a variable
#Condition: user input less than or equal to 16 Action: assign the phrase PG-13 as a string to a variable
#Condition: all other conditions Action: assign the letter R as a string to a variable
#Use the + concatenator to display the following on screen
#(replace [rating] with the value of the variable where you stored the allowed rating):
#You are ok to view [rating] movies!
#Regardless of condition, display the following as the last line: Thanks for watching movies!

1) Understand the problem

2) Develop and Describe an Algorithm

3) Test Algorithm with Simple Inputs

4) Translate the Algorithm into Java

5) Compile and Test Your Program

1) Understand the problem

• A client (a person who wants a program developed) who owns a painting company has requested that you create a prototype program that calculates the cans of paint required to paint a wall based on surface area in square feet. Normally a staff member at the store interacts with the customer to ask for the amount of square feet to be painted as a whole number. The staff member then creates an order by noting the square feet, calculating the litres of paint and determining how many cans of paint will be needed. Paint is sold in whole cans only. Program outputs for an order are expected to be total square feet to be painted, litres of paint required, total whole cans of paint required. The program should output the name of the staff member processing the order. (For this assignment, this is you the student, your full name as in ACSIS).

  • The only paint that the company currently uses comes in 4 litre cans, and covers 400 square feet per can.

• Write out briefly how you would do each step, as if you were the staff member.

• Type this into your MS Word document as part of your submission.

2) Develop and Describe an Algorithm including Classes

• Examine the problem statement and determine what objects, the properties of the objects, and behaviors would be required for an object oriented program, document their design using simple UML class diagrams.

• Write pseudo-code as the basis of your algorithm, as well as create a flowchart. You should reference the lecture notes, as well as your textbook by Joyce Farrell ^[2] as references for this part of the assignment.

• You should show object instantiation in the flowchart as variable declarations, then method calls to processing methods. Note, you are not required to document get/set accessor, mutator methods in your algorithm or flowchart.

• You may hand-draw the flowchart and UML class diagram for this assignment instead of using software, just use a ruler and print legibly.

• Alternatively a software program like MS PowerPoint, Office Libra Draw, or MS Visio can be used for flowchart while a software program like UMLet or MS Visio can be used to create the UML class diagrams.

• Print your name on the paper diagram, or if using software place your name inside a square rectangle in the diagram.

• If working on paper either scan the diagram into your computer, or use a cell phone to take a picture and email it to yourself Both your pseudocode and flowchart should be placed into your MS Word document, the pseudocode as text while the flowchart should be an image.

• Note: The pseudocode and flowchart should document the exact same algorithm.

3) Test Algorithm with Simple Inputs

• As per the lecture notes, use a table within your MS Word document to test the algorithm. Consider picking numbers that might be expected as input and work through the algorithm documenting expected outputs, you may use a calculator.

• If there is a problem with the algorithm based on this desk-check correct the pseudocode and flowchart, UML class diagram(s) and repeat this step again. (You only need to turn in the final table, no need to document all of your troubleshooting here.

4) Translate the Algorithm into Java

• You are to use the Eclipse IDE to create your Java program, use a project name like Assignment 02.

• Don’t forget to comment your code files, with the expected code header.

• Copy and paste your program source code file(s) into your MS Word document.

• Tip: Use a monospaced font, where every character has the same width on screen, to format your code, recommended settings: Font-face Consolas, Font-size 10pt

5a) Compile and Run Your Program

• Compile and run your program, using your documented test values.

• Take a screen shot of Command prompt window, or a rectangular selection of the Eclipse Console View depending on your development environment, ensure your name as output by the program is captured in the image.

5b) Test Your Program

• Re-use your testing table from step 3 in this section, but document what the program outputs are, do they match expectations?

• Test with some invalid inputs, and document what happens. Note that some input will crash your program, this is okay as you may not know how to fix this at this point in the course. Document what the error messages are in your test plan.

• Suggested invalid tests: enter a String instead of a number, enter a negative numbers for the input, what happens if the number is too large for the data type you use to store numerical input?

Microsoft Word Document Format

See the template example, suggested headings below:

1) Understand the problem

• Brief paragraph

2) Develop and Describe an Algorithm

• UML class diagrams, Pseudocode, Flowchart

3) Test Algorithm with Simple Inputs

• Test plan as table

4) Translate the Algorithm into Java

• Program source code, with programmer comments.

5) Compile and Test Your Program

• Screen shot of running program with student name as output

ZZ, Inc. has budgeted sales in units for the next six months as follows:

                  Budgeted Sales in Units
July                    7,700 units                             
August                  8,300 units
September               5,400 units
October                10,200 units
November               ?????? units
December               11,700 units

The selling price is $18 per unit. 30% of the company's sales are cash
sales and 70% of the company's sales are made on account. The sales on
account are collected in the pattern 15% in the month of sale, 20% in
the month following sale, 55% in the second month following sale, and
the final 10% is collected in the third month following sale.

ZZ, Inc. reported a budgeted accounts receivable balance of $194,670
in its pro forma balance sheet at December 31.

Calculate the number of units budgeted to be sold in November. Do not
type the word units after your answer.

Assume

A portfolio consists of two assets, Investment A and Investment B.

Market Value of Investment A at beginning of period: $600

Market Value of Investment B at beginning of period: $300

Investment A has an expected return of 8%

Investment B has an expected return of 3%

Investment A has a standard deviation (volatility) of returns 15%

Investment B has a standard deviation (volatility) of returns of 6%

The correlation of returns for Investment A and Investment B is 20%

Deliverable

Word or Excel spreadsheet items.

A. Calculate the portfolio standard deviation (volatility) of returns. Show your work.

B. If the correlation of returns was negative 20%, i.e., -20%, what is the portfolio standard deviation (volatility) of returns? Show your work.

C. Did risk increase or decrease when the correlation declined from 20% to -20%? Why? Briefly explain your answer using non-mathematical terminology.

6. Combine the following sentences using a noun clause:

    Why would the pilot suddenly resign? I do not know the reason.

7. Combine the following sentences using a subordinate clause that expresses condition:
Taxi drivers will mount protests in a month. This is because the government is likely to insist on introducing premium taxi services through franchises.

8. Rewrite the following sentence using the word ‘despite’:

Although Edward had already completed his doctoral studies, he failed to secure an academic position.

9. Combine the following sentences using a relative clause with the relative pronoun ‘whom’:
Barack Obama is a Nobel Prize winner. I have great respect for him.

10. Combine the following sentences into a single sentence using two defining relative clauses:
Tim sold his car to a woman. The woman’s husband had a job. The job required a car.

Imagine you have a farm with three plots of land. There is one in the valley, one on the hill and one in the swamp. Each plot can either grow corn or wheat. Assume that planting, harvesting, etc. is free. The quantity of each crop on each plot is given by the following table.

Plot                                Corn                               Wheat

Valley                            200                                 300

Hill                                  150                                 450

Swamp                          100                                 100

a. Draw a PPF for your farm. Indicate all slopes and intercepts.

b. If the price of corn is $5/unit and the price of wheat is $2/unit, what should you produce on each plot in order to maximize revenue? (We haven't said the word "revenue" yet but it means the total market value of the crops.)

c. If the price of corn is $2.50 and the price of wheat is $2, what do you want to produce on each plot?