Culturomics as a data playground for tests of selection: Mathematical approaches to detecting selection in word use

Inspired by the Moran and Wright-Fisher models in population genetics, we developed a neutral model of word frequency variation to assess when linguistic data appears to depart from neutral evolution. As such, our model represents a possible “test for selection” in the linguistic domain. We explore how the distribution of word use has changed for sets of words in English for more than 100 years (1901-2008) as expressed in vocabulary usage in published books, made available by Google Ngram. When comparing empirical word frequency changes to our neutral model we find pervasive and systematic departures from neutrality.