ArticlePloS one2012
Abstract profiles of structural stability point to universal tendencies, family-specific factors, and ancient connections between languages.
Article in PloS one, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 15 papers.
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15 citing papers in PubMed.
- Gradient in grammatical structure of indigenous languages reflects pathway of human expansion in the Americas.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Grambank reveals the importance of genealogical constraints on linguistic diversity and highlights the impact of language loss.Science advances · 2023Article
- Phylogenetic signal and rate of evolutionary change in language structures.Royal Society open science · 2022Article
- The vocal tract as a time machine: inferences about past speech and language from the anatomy of the speech organs.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2021Article
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- Modelling human hard palate shape with Bézier curves.PloS one · 2018Article
- Diachronic Atlas of Comparative Linguistics (DiACL)-A database for ancient language typology.PloS one · 2018Article
- Evolutionary dynamics of language systems.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2017Article
- Statistical universals reveal the structures and functions of human music.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2015Article
- The neurophysiology of language processing shapes the evolution of grammar: evidence from case marking.PloS one · 2015Article
- Evolution of cultural traits occurs at similar relative rates in different world regions.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2014Article
- Tracing the roots of syntax with Bayesian phylogenetics.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2014Article
- Ultraconserved words point to deep language ancestry across Eurasia.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2013Article
- Some structural aspects of language are more stable than others: a comparison of seven methods.PloS one · 2013Article
- On the antiquity of language: the reinterpretation of Neandertal linguistic capacities and its consequences.Frontiers in psychology · 2013Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
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2 authors.
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Abstract
Language is the best example of a cultural evolutionary system, able to retain a phylogenetic signal over many thousands of years. The temporal stability (conservatism) of basic vocabulary is relatively well understood, but the stability of the structural properties of language (phonology, morphology, syntax) is still unclear. Here we report an extensive Bayesian phylogenetic investigation of the structural stability of numerous features across many language families and we introduce a novel method for analyzing the relationships between the "stability profiles" of language families. We found that there is a strong universal component across language families, suggesting the existence of universal linguistic, cognitive and genetic constraints. Against this background, however, each language family has a distinct stability profile, and these profiles cluster by geographic area and likely deep genealogical relationships. These stability profiles seem to show, for example, the ancient historical relationships between the Siberian and American language families, presumed to be separated by at least 12,000 years, and possible connections between the Eurasian families. We also found preliminary support for the punctuated evolution of structural features of language across families, types of features and geographic areas. Thus, such higher-level properties of language seen as an evolutionary system might allow the investigation of ancient connections between languages and shed light on the peopling of the world.
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