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From: peterson@milano.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.cog-eng,net.research
Subject: Re: Utterances
Message-ID: <2150@milano.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 25-Aug-86 18:05:33 EDT
Article-I.D.: milano.2150
Posted: Mon Aug 25 18:05:33 1986
Date-Received: Mon, 25-Aug-86 22:04:45 EDT
References: <639@bcsaic.UUCP> <2134@milano.UUCP>
Sender: peterson@milano.UUCP
Distribution: net
Organization: MCC, Austin, TX
Lines: 23
Summary: What is an utterance
Xref: mnetor net.cog-eng:263 net.research:411

In article <639@bcsaic.UUCP>, douglas@bcsaic.UUCP (douglas schuler) writes:
> What percentage of the utterances made in the world have been made before?

Since no one else has asked, What is an utterance? Verbal or written?
I can see the following possibilities:

1. word
2. phrase
3. sentence

It seems unlikely that "1. word" is of interest -- this is effectively
the rate of production of new words, which (I assume) is very very
low.

It seems unlikely that "3. sentence" is of interest -- many verbal
utterances are incomplete sentences.

Hence "2. phrase" seems most likely.  Now how do we define a phrase?
Semantically or simply as a sequence of words? what about subphrases
and superphrases?
-- 
James Peterson
peterson@mcc.com  or  ...sally!im4u!milano!peterson