Optimal Route in Linguistic Z-Graphs: A Shortest Path Approach

A shortest-path algorithm determines the path with the lowest cost between two vertices in a graph/network. Through the use of information expressed in natural language, computing with words involves applying soft computing techniques to decision-making problems. In this chapter, we suggest a modified version of Dijkstra’s algorithm for finding the shortest paths in a linguistic Z-graph between a source node and all other nodes, where the arc lengths are denoted by some linguistic terms and a numerical value to represent weight in combined form. In a linguistic Z-graph, nodes are represented by linguistic elements, such as words or concepts, and edges are denoted by linguistic relationships between them. Also, we introduce a theoretical approach of homophily principles in linguistic Z-graphs to cover uncertainty accurately.