Sascha Wolfer
@sascha-wolfer.bsky.social
Linguist @ IDS Mannheim
interested in language, numbers, the mind and sometimes dictionaries
owned by a fluffy dog
Also on Mastodon: @sascha_wolfer@fediscience.org
interested in language, numbers, the mind and sometimes dictionaries
owned by a fluffy dog
Also on Mastodon: @sascha_wolfer@fediscience.org
Ah, yes, the five genders!
October 21, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Ah, yes, the five genders!
The desk was small but the view was nice. „Home“ office in the Wendland (Lower Saxony) is over.
August 22, 2025 at 2:19 PM
The desk was small but the view was nice. „Home“ office in the Wendland (Lower Saxony) is over.
Ursprünglicher Beitrag: fediscience.org/@sascha_wolf...
August 20, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Ursprünglicher Beitrag: fediscience.org/@sascha_wolf...
So sieht das nämlich aus.
August 10, 2025 at 9:26 AM
So sieht das nämlich aus.
We conclude: "Our semi-automatic approach offers a practical solution to the limitations of existing CEFR lists, providing a framework for expanding these lists in a systematic and data-driven manner. However, our findings also reveal the importance of human oversight in the process."
July 23, 2025 at 6:20 AM
We conclude: "Our semi-automatic approach offers a practical solution to the limitations of existing CEFR lists, providing a framework for expanding these lists in a systematic and data-driven manner. However, our findings also reveal the importance of human oversight in the process."
Ursprünglicher Beitrag: fediscience.org/@sascha_wolf...
July 18, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Ursprünglicher Beitrag: fediscience.org/@sascha_wolf...
July 16, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Maybe we should've named her 'Nibbler'.
July 12, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Maybe we should've named her 'Nibbler'.
Ursprünglicher Beitrag: hachyderm.io/@BenjaminHCC...
July 7, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Ursprünglicher Beitrag: hachyderm.io/@BenjaminHCC...
Werden bei der Nussrohmassenverarbeitung Nüsse roh massenverarbeitet oder wird Nussrohmasse verarbeitet?
#linguistik #komposita
#linguistik #komposita
July 6, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Werden bei der Nussrohmassenverarbeitung Nüsse roh massenverarbeitet oder wird Nussrohmasse verarbeitet?
#linguistik #komposita
#linguistik #komposita
July 6, 2025 at 8:40 AM
Ursprünglicher Beitrag: newsie.social/@dieKadda/11...
July 6, 2025 at 8:21 AM
Ursprünglicher Beitrag: newsie.social/@dieKadda/11...
Kreidetafel in der französischen Ferienwohnung. Die Deutschen so:
June 13, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Kreidetafel in der französischen Ferienwohnung. Die Deutschen so:
Die „Heckscheibenfolie“ ist eigentlich eine „Heckscheibenwischerfolie“, aber das war vielleicht dann doch zuviel Kompositum.
March 25, 2025 at 10:25 AM
Die „Heckscheibenfolie“ ist eigentlich eine „Heckscheibenwischerfolie“, aber das war vielleicht dann doch zuviel Kompositum.
This is what we've been promised in 1993. Now look at us these 30+ years later... 😐
March 24, 2025 at 4:10 PM
This is what we've been promised in 1993. Now look at us these 30+ years later... 😐
um des geilsten Farbschemas willens! danke @stefanhartmann.bsky.social ! #idsjt25
March 12, 2025 at 11:00 AM
um des geilsten Farbschemas willens! danke @stefanhartmann.bsky.social ! #idsjt25
Here's our samoyed Lola lying in the snow. You might say "that's so cute" – but what you don't see are the snowballs that freeze to her stomach and slowly but steadily defrost in our home.
February 14, 2025 at 8:12 AM
Here's our samoyed Lola lying in the snow. You might say "that's so cute" – but what you don't see are the snowballs that freeze to her stomach and slowly but steadily defrost in our home.
Letztes Jahr 16 Peer-Reviews (ohne Tagungsabstracts!), dieses Jahr schon 3. I can't keep partying like that!
February 4, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Letztes Jahr 16 Peer-Reviews (ohne Tagungsabstracts!), dieses Jahr schon 3. I can't keep partying like that!
So, is there any relationship to language-external variables? We found that larger communities tend to use more complex, more efficient langs. We speculate that this might have to do with the importance of written communication in larger societies which creates pressure favoring shorter messages. 5/
February 3, 2025 at 8:29 PM
So, is there any relationship to language-external variables? We found that larger communities tend to use more complex, more efficient langs. We speculate that this might have to do with the importance of written communication in larger societies which creates pressure favoring shorter messages. 5/
Our answer: it's a trade-off. Langs with higher complexity tend to produce shorter texts, i.e. are more efficient in communication. That means that a complex language might offer more options to convey the same idea using fewer symbols. We also show that this is not a trivial relationship. 4/
February 3, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Our answer: it's a trade-off. Langs with higher complexity tend to produce shorter texts, i.e. are more efficient in communication. That means that a complex language might offer more options to convey the same idea using fewer symbols. We also show that this is not a trivial relationship. 4/
What DOES make a different is language: if one lang is harder to process for an LM than another, this relationship holds across other LMs, text types, and even across symbolic levels (chars, words, BPE). But why would some langs evolve to be more complex, given the increased processing effort? 3/
February 3, 2025 at 8:29 PM
What DOES make a different is language: if one lang is harder to process for an LM than another, this relationship holds across other LMs, text types, and even across symbolic levels (chars, words, BPE). But why would some langs evolve to be more complex, given the increased processing effort? 3/
We trained 4 types of lang models (LMs: PPM, PAQ, LSTM, Transformers) on a corpus of 3 bn words across >6500 docs in >2k langs. Entropy rate distributions over LMs were surprisingly consistent. So, in this context, the choice of LM does not have a big impact on cross-linguistic studies. 2/
February 3, 2025 at 8:29 PM
We trained 4 types of lang models (LMs: PPM, PAQ, LSTM, Transformers) on a corpus of 3 bn words across >6500 docs in >2k langs. Entropy rate distributions over LMs were surprisingly consistent. So, in this context, the choice of LM does not have a big impact on cross-linguistic studies. 2/
Just published: "Human #languages trade off #complexity against #efficiency" in PLOS Complex Systems
doi.org/10.1371/jour...
Main findings: Langs that are (information-theoretically) more complex are more efficient. Larger speaker communities tend to use more efficient langs. 1/
doi.org/10.1371/jour...
Main findings: Langs that are (information-theoretically) more complex are more efficient. Larger speaker communities tend to use more efficient langs. 1/
February 3, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Just published: "Human #languages trade off #complexity against #efficiency" in PLOS Complex Systems
doi.org/10.1371/jour...
Main findings: Langs that are (information-theoretically) more complex are more efficient. Larger speaker communities tend to use more efficient langs. 1/
doi.org/10.1371/jour...
Main findings: Langs that are (information-theoretically) more complex are more efficient. Larger speaker communities tend to use more efficient langs. 1/
I was dumbstruck when I read Well's Time Machine when I've encountered this sentence:
January 15, 2025 at 1:57 PM
I was dumbstruck when I read Well's Time Machine when I've encountered this sentence: