Information Technology Reference
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than remaining simply syntactic or pattern-based types. Even in large cor-
pora, the relative infrequency of identical multiword sequences can be
explained from the understanding of the sequence developed from infor-
mation theory—a weakly correlated linear concatenation of individually
cohesive units. It is possible to make an analogy with cryptanalytic proce-
dures, where repeated multiword sequences may be recognized, although
possibly with access to the process as well as to the product of commu-
nication and directly to the place of the sequence within the encompass-
ing utterance.
6
The utterance also emerges as more significant than the
separate word, matching its possible ontological priority. Informal or
experientially developed understandings of the effects of phrase search-
ing—both as process of search, as with Google.com, and description, as
with Amazon.com (Google 2005; Amazon 2005)—for both relative sta-
bility of meanings and infrequency of occurrence have preceded their the-
oretical explanation.
Fuller example
A fuller example can advance the dialogue between practical understand-
ing and the theoretical knowledge developed. In the following extended
sequence,
stood for
occurs in two deliberately contrasting meanings or
senses, which could be paraphrased as “represented” and “put up with”:
“
A college widow stood for something in those days. In fact, she stood for
plenty
” (McLeod 1932). In its first occurrence,
stood for
demands selec-
tion of
represented
, in the sense implied by the classic semiotic defini-
tion of the sign as something standing for something (
aliquid stat pro
aliquo
), and in its subsequent occurrence,
to put up with
. The different
syntagmatic occurrences compel selection of contrasting senses from the
paradigmatic possibilities. The sequence
stood for
is regarded as belong-
ing to the language, not to speech; from the Saussurean understanding of
the word as a unit that compels recognition by the mind, it could also be
regarded as a word. From the combinatorial perspective of information
theory, the sequence
stood for
can also be regarded as a word if the space
is treated as a character (Shannon 1948/1993; 1951/1993).
In its original filmic mode, by oral delivery, the particular selection
from the paradigm is guided by the surrounding syntagma, but the proc-
ess of selection is difficult to formalize in logical or computational terms.
