2025/11/12 by Tamm, Mikhail V., Heinsalu, Els, Scialla, Stefano +1
#Adaptation and Self-Organizing Systems (nlin.AO) #FOS: Physical sciences #Physics and Society (physics.soc-ph) #Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech)
paper · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2511.09136
We propose a threshold model of language competition which includes intermediate bilingual state. The model is based on the Minett-Wang model but through the introduction of thresholds in the language shift rates it incorporates the effects of memory and learning. The model is piecewise-linear, allowing the exact analytical treatment. We study the symmetric case where two competing languages are equivalent in terms of status and social pressure and provide a complete list of the various dynamical regimes. We also study several limiting regimes corresponding to asymmetric systems and characterize the full spectrum of possible asymptotic behaviors. Unlike the Minett-Wang model, which always predicts the extinction of one of the languages, the proposed new model exhibits a wide range of possible equilibrium scenarios, including equilibrium states of coexistence. Most commonly, in such coexistence regimes the minority language speakers are either completely monolingual or completely bilingual.