English and Chinese language frequency time series analysis

Abstract

English and Chinese language frequency time series (LFTS) were constructed based on an English and two Chinese novels. Methods of statistical hypothesis testing were adopted to test the nonlinear properties of the LFTS. Results suggest the series exhibited non-normal, auto-correlative, and stationary characteristics. Moreover, we found that LFTS follow the power law distributions, and thereby we investigated the fractal structure, long range correlation, and intermittency, which indicated the self-similarity features of LFTS, and also provided hints that human societies are likely to share some universal properties. © 2011 Science China Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.