I wonder, does this account for compression? Are the bits counting a concrete representation of ideas transmitted? Or are bits counting a simple abstraction over syllables, similar to a token? Language is compression. And while humans may transmit at a universal rate, maybe some languages/cultures have a more dense compression of ideas than others? Like in Turkish, how there's a word for "moonlight on the water" https://ihearthesamewinds.wordpress.com/2011/11/01/142/.
Yes:
>Each participant read aloud 15 identical passages that had been translated into their mother tongue. After noting how long the speakers took to get through their readings, the researchers calculated an average speech rate per language, measured in syllables/second.