A two-word relation as the minimum unit of language

This paper presents the idea that the relation between two words can be treated as the minimum unit of language. With only one word, there is no relation between words, but when a second word appears, a relation between the two words becomes possible. The change from one word to two is therefore treated as the point at which a relation first appears. Sequences of three or more words can be represented as chains in which two-word relations are connected through shared words. The paper also examines two perspectives on two-word relations: co-occurrence within the same range (cw) and sequential relations that preserve word order (cm). These provide two ways to consider context and grammar from two-word relations.

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Publication Details

Journal
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Published
2026-11-11
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.24128943
Primary Topic
Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation
Type
preprint
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preprint

A two-word relation as the minimum unit of language

Hilofumi Yamamoto
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation
preprint

A two-word relation as the minimum unit of language

Hilofumi Yamamoto
preprint en

Abstract

This paper presents the idea that the relation between two words can be treated as the minimum unit of language. With only one word, there is no relation between words, but when a second word appears, a relation between the two words becomes possible. The change from one word to two is therefore treated as the point at which a relation first appears. Sequences of three or more words can be represented as chains in which two-word relations are connected through shared words. The paper also examines two perspectives on two-word relations: co-occurrence within the same range (cw) and sequential relations that preserve word order (cm). These provide two ways to consider context and grammar from two-word relations.

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Institute of Science Tokyo (JP)
Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation
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