1
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Kim Y, Tjuka A. Cognitive Science From the Perspective of Linguistic Diversity. Cogn Sci 2024; 48:e13418. [PMID: 38407526 DOI: 10.1111/cogs.13418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2023] [Revised: 12/27/2023] [Accepted: 02/11/2024] [Indexed: 02/27/2024]
Abstract
This letter addresses two issues in language research that are important to cognitive science: the comparability of word meanings across languages and the neglect of an integrated approach to writing systems. The first issue challenges generativist claims by emphasizing the importance of comparability of data, drawing on typologists' findings about different languages. The second issue addresses the exclusion of diverse writing systems from linguistic investigation and argues for a more extensive study of their effects on language and cognition. We argue for a refocusing of cognitive science research on linguistic diversity in all modalities to develop the most robust understanding of language and its role in human cognition more broadly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoolim Kim
- Department of Psychology, Cognitive & Linguistic Sciences Program, Wellesley College
| | - Annika Tjuka
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
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2
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Blum F, Barrientos C, Zariquiey R, List JM. A comparative wordlist for investigating distant relations among languages in Lowland South America. Sci Data 2024; 11:92. [PMID: 38238331 PMCID: PMC10796766 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-024-02928-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 01/22/2024] Open
Abstract
The history of the language families in Lowland South America remains an understudied area of historical linguistics. Panoan and Tacanan, two language families from this area, have frequently been proposed to descend from the same ancestor. Despite ample evidence in favor of this hypothesis, not all scholars accept it as proven beyond doubt. We compiled a new lexical questionnaire with 501 basic concepts to investigate the genetic relation between Panoan and Tacanan languages. The dataset includes data from twelve Panoan, five Tacanan, and four other languages which have previously been suggested to be related to Pano-Tacanan. Through the transparent annotation of grammatical morphemes and partial cognates, our dataset provides the basis for testing language relationships both qualitatively and quantitatively. The data is not only relevant for the investigation of the ancestry of Panoan and Tacanan languages. Reflecting the state of the art in computer-assisted approaches for historical language comparison, it can serve as a role model for linguistic studies in other areas of the world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frederic Blum
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Carlos Barrientos
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | | | - Johann-Mattis List
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Chair of Multilingual Computational Linguistics, University of Passau, Passau, Germany
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3
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Wang T, Wichmann S, Xia Q, Ran Q. Temperature shapes language sonority: Revalidation from a large dataset. PNAS NEXUS 2023; 2:pgad384. [PMID: 38059263 PMCID: PMC10697424 DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2023] [Accepted: 10/27/2023] [Indexed: 12/08/2023]
Abstract
Multiple factors of the natural environment have been found to impact and mold the phonetic patterns of human speech, among which the potential correlation between sonority and temperature has garnered significant attention. We leverage a large database containing basic vocabularies of 5,293 languages and calculate the average sonority for each language by adopting a universal sonority scale. Our findings confirm a positive correlation between sonority and temperature across macroareas and language families, whereas this relationship cannot be discerned within language families. We suggest that the adaptation of the distribution of speech sounds within languages is a slow process which is moreover insensitive to minor differences in temperature experienced by speakers as they carry their languages to new regions. Nevertheless, at the global level a solid relationship emerges. Furthermore, we delve deeper into the nature of the relationship and contend that it is mainly due to cold temperatures having a weakening effect on sonority. This research provides compelling additional evidence that climatic factors contribute to shaping language and its evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianheng Wang
- School of Liberal Arts, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Søren Wichmann
- Cluster of Excellence ROOTS, Kiel University, 24118 Kiel, Germany
| | - Quansheng Xia
- College of Chinese Language and Culture, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Qibin Ran
- School of Liberal Arts, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
- Laboratory of Social Science of Tianjin, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
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4
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Blum F, Barrientos C, Ingunza A, Blasi DE, Zariquiey R. Grammars Across Time Analyzed (GATA): a dataset of 52 languages. Sci Data 2023; 10:835. [PMID: 38017079 PMCID: PMC10684564 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-023-02659-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 11/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Grammars Across Time Analyzed (GATA) is a resource capturing two snapshots of the grammatical structure of a diverse range of languages separated in time, aimed at furthering research on historical linguistics, language evolution, and cultural change. GATA comprises grammatical information on 52 diverse languages across all continents, featuring morphological, syntactic, and phonological information based on published grammars of the same language at two different time points. Here we introduce the coding scheme and design features of GATA, and we describe some salient patterns related to language change and the coverage of grammatical descriptions over time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frederic Blum
- Department for Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Carlos Barrientos
- Department for Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Institut für Linguistik, Universität Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | | | - Damián E Blasi
- Department for Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA.
- Harvard Data Science Initiative, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA.
- Center for Brain and Cognition, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Spain.
- Catalan Institute for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain.
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5
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Chousou-Polydouri N, Inman D, Huber TC, Bickel B. Multi-variate coding for possession: methodology and preliminary results. LINGUISTICS 2023; 61:1365-1402. [PMID: 38144363 PMCID: PMC10740388 DOI: 10.1515/ling-2022-0021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2022] [Accepted: 01/14/2023] [Indexed: 12/26/2023]
Abstract
In this work we are presenting a database structure to encode the phenomenon of differential possession across languages, considering noun possession classes and possessive constructions as independent but linked. We show how this structure can be used to study different dimensions of possession: semantics, noun valence, and possessive constructions. We present preliminary survey results from a global sample of 120 languages and show that there is a universal semantic core in both inalienable and non-possessible noun classes. Inalienables are centered on body parts and kinship. Non-possessibles are centered on animals, humans, and natural elements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Chousou-Polydouri
- Department of Comparative Language Science and Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - David Inman
- Department of Comparative Language Science and Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Thomas C. Huber
- Department of Comparative Language Science and Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Balthasar Bickel
- Department of Comparative Language Science and Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
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6
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Lai Y, List JM. Lexical data for the historical comparison of Rgyalrongic languages. OPEN RESEARCH EUROPE 2023; 3:99. [PMID: 37645481 PMCID: PMC10446046 DOI: 10.12688/openreseurope.16017.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
As one of the most morphologically conservative branches of the Sino-Tibetan language family, most of the Rgyalrongic languages are still understudied and poorly understood, not to mention their vulnerable or endangered status. It is therefore important for available data of these languages to be made accessible. The lexical data sets the authors have assembled provide comparative word lists of 20 modern and medieval Rgyalrongic languages, consisting of word lists from fieldwork carried out by the first author and other colleagues as well as published word lists by other authors. In particular, data of the two Khroskyabs varieties were collected by the first author from 2011 to 2016. Cognate identification is based on the authors' expertise in Rgyalrong historical linguistics through application of the comparative method. We curated the data by conducting phonemic segmentation and partial cognate annotation. The data sets can be used by historical linguists interested in the etymology and the phylogeny of the languages in question, and they can use them to answer questions regarding individual word histories or the subgrouping of languages in this important branch of Sino-Tibetan.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yunfan Lai
- Trinity Centre for Asian Studies, The University of Dublin Trinity College, Dublin, Leinster, D02 PN40, Ireland
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, 04103, Germany
| | - Johann-Mattis List
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, 04103, Germany
- Multilingual Computational Linguistics, Universitat Passau, Passau, Bavaria, 94032, Germany
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7
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List JM. Inference of partial colexifications from multilingual wordlists. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1156540. [PMID: 37397315 PMCID: PMC10312387 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1156540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 07/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The past years have seen a drastic rise in studies devoted to the investigation of colexification patterns in individual languages families in particular and the languages of the world in specific. Specifically computational studies have profited from the fact that colexification as a scientific construct is easy to operationalize, enabling scholars to infer colexification patterns for large collections of cross-linguistic data. Studies devoted to partial colexifications-colexification patterns that do not involve entire words, but rather various parts of words-, however, have been rarely conducted so far. This is not surprising, since partial colexifications are less easy to deal with in computational approaches and may easily suffer from all kinds of noise resulting from false positive matches. In order to address this problem, this study proposes new approaches to the handling of partial colexifications by (1) proposing new models with which partial colexification patterns can be represented, (2) developing new efficient methods and workflows which help to infer various types of partial colexification patterns from multilingual wordlists, and (3) illustrating how inferred patterns of partial colexifications can be computationally analyzed and interactively visualized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johann-Mattis List
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Chair of Multilingual Computational Linguistics, University of Passau, Passau, Germany
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8
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Tjuka A, Forkel R, List JM. Curating and extending data for language comparison in Concepticon and NoRaRe. OPEN RESEARCH EUROPE 2023; 2:141. [PMID: 37645322 PMCID: PMC10446050 DOI: 10.12688/openreseurope.15380.3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/16/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
Language comparison requires user-friendly tools that facilitate the standardization of linguistic data. We present two resources built on the basis of a standardized cross-linguistic format and show how the data is curated and extended. The first resource, the Concepticon, is a reference catalog for standardized concepts from linguistic research. While curating the Concepticon, we found that a variety of studies in distinct research fields collected information on word properties. However, until recently, no resource existed that contained these data to enable the comparison of the different word properties across languages. This gap was filled by the Database of Norms, Ratings, and Relations (NoRaRe), which is an extension of the Concepticon. Here, we present the major release of both resources - Concepticon Version 3.0 and NoRaRe Version 1.0 - which represents an important step in our data development. We show that extending and adapting the data curation workflow in Concepticon to NoRaRe is useful for the standardization of cross-linguistic datasets. In addition, combining datasets from different research fields enables studies grounded in language comparison. Concepticon and NoRaRe include lexical data for various languages, tools for test-driven data curation, and the possibility for data reuse. The first major release of NoRaRe is also accompanied by a new web application that allows convenient access to the data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annika Tjuka
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Saxony, 04103, Germany
| | - Robert Forkel
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Saxony, 04103, Germany
| | - Johann-Mattis List
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Saxony, 04103, Germany
- Chair for Multilingual Computational Linguistics, University of Passau, Passau, Bavaria, 94032, Germany
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9
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Passmore S, Barth W, Greenhill SJ, Quinn K, Sheard C, Argyriou P, Birchall J, Bowern C, Calladine J, Deb A, Diederen A, Metsäranta NP, Araujo LH, Schembri R, Hickey-Hall J, Honkola T, Mitchell A, Poole L, Rácz PM, Roberts SG, Ross RM, Thomas-Colquhoun E, Evans N, Jordan FM. Kinbank: A global database of kinship terminology. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0283218. [PMID: 37224178 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0283218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2022] [Accepted: 03/03/2023] [Indexed: 05/26/2023] Open
Abstract
For a single species, human kinship organization is both remarkably diverse and strikingly organized. Kinship terminology is the structured vocabulary used to classify, refer to, and address relatives and family. Diversity in kinship terminology has been analyzed by anthropologists for over 150 years, although recurrent patterning across cultures remains incompletely explained. Despite the wealth of kinship data in the anthropological record, comparative studies of kinship terminology are hindered by data accessibility. Here we present Kinbank, a new database of 210,903 kinterms from a global sample of 1,229 spoken languages. Using open-access and transparent data provenance, Kinbank offers an extensible resource for kinship terminology, enabling researchers to explore the rich diversity of human family organization and to test longstanding hypotheses about the origins and drivers of recurrent patterns. We illustrate our contribution with two examples. We demonstrate strong gender bias in the phonological structure of parent terms across 1,022 languages, and we show that there is no evidence for a coevolutionary relationship between cross-cousin marriage and bifurcate-merging terminology in Bantu languages. Analysing kinship data is notoriously challenging; Kinbank aims to eliminate data accessibility issues from that challenge and provide a platform to build an interdisciplinary understanding of kinship.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sam Passmore
- Evolution of Cultural Diversity Initiative (ECDI), Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
- Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, Keio University, Fujisawa, Japan
| | - Wolfgang Barth
- ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language (CoEDL), Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Simon J Greenhill
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Kyla Quinn
- ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language (CoEDL), Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Catherine Sheard
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Paraskevi Argyriou
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Joshua Birchall
- Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Belém, Pará, Brazil
- Department of Linguistics, The University of New Mexico, New Mexico, United States of America
| | - Claire Bowern
- Department of Linguistics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Jasmine Calladine
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Angarika Deb
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
- Department of Cognitive Science, Central European University, Vienna, Austria
| | - Anouk Diederen
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Niklas P Metsäranta
- Department of Finnish, Finno-Ugrian, and Scandinavian Studies, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | | | - Rhiannon Schembri
- Research School of Biology, Ecology, and Evolution, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Jo Hickey-Hall
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Terhi Honkola
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
- Department of Finnish, Finno-Ugrian, and Scandinavian Studies, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Alice Mitchell
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
- Institute for African Studies, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Lucy Poole
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Péter M Rácz
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
- Cognitive Science Department, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Sean G Roberts
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
- School of English, Communications and Philosophy, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
| | - Robert M Ross
- School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Ewan Thomas-Colquhoun
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Nicholas Evans
- Evolution of Cultural Diversity Initiative (ECDI), Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language (CoEDL), Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Fiona M Jordan
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
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10
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Skirgård H, Haynie HJ, Blasi DE, Hammarström H, Collins J, Latarche JJ, Lesage J, Weber T, Witzlack-Makarevich A, Passmore S, Chira A, Maurits L, Dinnage R, Dunn M, Reesink G, Singer R, Bowern C, Epps P, Hill J, Vesakoski O, Robbeets M, Abbas NK, Auer D, Bakker NA, Barbos G, Borges RD, Danielsen S, Dorenbusch L, Dorn E, Elliott J, Falcone G, Fischer J, Ghanggo Ate Y, Gibson H, Göbel HP, Goodall JA, Gruner V, Harvey A, Hayes R, Heer L, Herrera Miranda RE, Hübler N, Huntington-Rainey B, Ivani JK, Johns M, Just E, Kashima E, Kipf C, Klingenberg JV, König N, Koti A, Kowalik RG, Krasnoukhova O, Lindvall NL, Lorenzen M, Lutzenberger H, Martins TR, Mata German C, van der Meer S, Montoya Samamé J, Müller M, Muradoglu S, Neely K, Nickel J, Norvik M, Oluoch CA, Peacock J, Pearey IO, Peck N, Petit S, Pieper S, Poblete M, Prestipino D, Raabe L, Raja A, Reimringer J, Rey SC, Rizaew J, Ruppert E, Salmon KK, Sammet J, Schembri R, Schlabbach L, Schmidt FW, Skilton A, Smith WD, de Sousa H, Sverredal K, Valle D, Vera J, Voß J, Witte T, Wu H, Yam S, Ye J, Yong M, Yuditha T, Zariquiey R, Forkel R, Evans N, Levinson SC, Haspelmath M, Greenhill SJ, Atkinson QD, Gray RD. Grambank reveals the importance of genealogical constraints on linguistic diversity and highlights the impact of language loss. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadg6175. [PMID: 37075104 PMCID: PMC10115409 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adg6175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
While global patterns of human genetic diversity are increasingly well characterized, the diversity of human languages remains less systematically described. Here, we outline the Grambank database. With over 400,000 data points and 2400 languages, Grambank is the largest comparative grammatical database available. The comprehensiveness of Grambank allows us to quantify the relative effects of genealogical inheritance and geographic proximity on the structural diversity of the world's languages, evaluate constraints on linguistic diversity, and identify the world's most unusual languages. An analysis of the consequences of language loss reveals that the reduction in diversity will be strikingly uneven across the major linguistic regions of the world. Without sustained efforts to document and revitalize endangered languages, our linguistic window into human history, cognition, and culture will be seriously fragmented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hedvig Skirgård
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
- Department of Linguistics, School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
- Department of Language and Cognition, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Corresponding author. (H.S.); (R.D.G.)
| | - Hannah J. Haynie
- Department of Linguistics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Damián E. Blasi
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Human Relation Area Files, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Harald Hammarström
- Department of Language and Cognition, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Department of Linguistics and Philology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Jeremy Collins
- Department of Language and Cognition, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Arts, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Jay J. Latarche
- Department of Linguistics, School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, London, UK
| | - Jakob Lesage
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Language and Cognition, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Langage, Langues et Cultures d'Afrique (LLACAN), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Villejuif, France
- Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (INALCO), Paris, France
- Department of Asian and African Studies, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Tobias Weber
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Frisian and General Linguistics, Department of General Linguistics, Institute for Scandinavian Studies, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Alena Witzlack-Makarevich
- Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Humanities, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Sam Passmore
- Evolution of Cultural Diversity Initiative, School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
- Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, Keio University SFC (Shonan Fujisawa Campus), Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, Faculty of Arts, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Angela Chira
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Luke Maurits
- Department of Comparative Cultural Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Russell Dinnage
- Department of Biological Sciences, Institute of Environment, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Michael Dunn
- Department of Language and Cognition, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Department of Linguistics and Philology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Ger Reesink
- Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Arts, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Ruth Singer
- ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
- Research Unit for Indigenous Language, School of Languages and Linguistics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Claire Bowern
- Department of Linguistics, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Patience Epps
- Department of Linguistics, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Jane Hill
- School of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Outi Vesakoski
- Department of Biology, Turku University, Turku, Finland
- Department of Finnish and Finno-Ugric languages, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Martine Robbeets
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Noor Karolin Abbas
- Department of Linguistics, School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, London, UK
| | - Daniel Auer
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Nancy A. Bakker
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Frisian and General Linguistics, Department of General Linguistics, Institute for Scandinavian Studies, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Giulia Barbos
- Department of Linguistics, School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, London, UK
| | - Robert D. Borges
- Institute of Slavic Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Swintha Danielsen
- Zentrum für Kleine und Regionale Sprachen, Friesisches Seminar, Europa-Universität Flensburg, Flensburg, Germany
- Centro de Investigaciones Históricas y Antropológicas (CIHA), Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
- Europa-Universität Flensburg (EUF), Flensburg, Germany
| | - Luise Dorenbusch
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Linguistics, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Ella Dorn
- Department of Linguistics, School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, London, UK
| | - John Elliott
- Department of Linguistics, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, USA
| | - Giada Falcone
- Department of Linguistics and Philology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Jana Fischer
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Frisian and General Linguistics, Department of General Linguistics, Institute for Scandinavian Studies, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Yustinus Ghanggo Ate
- Department of Linguistics, School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
- Universitas Katolik Weetebula, Sumba Island, Indonesia
| | - Hannah Gibson
- Department of Languages and Linguistics, University of Essex, Essex, UK
| | - Hans-Philipp Göbel
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Frisian and General Linguistics, Department of General Linguistics, Institute for Scandinavian Studies, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
- Department of Linguistics, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Jemima A. Goodall
- Department of Linguistics, School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, London, UK
| | - Victoria Gruner
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Andrew Harvey
- Faculty of Languages and Literatures, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Rebekah Hayes
- Department of Linguistics, School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, London, UK
| | - Leonard Heer
- Frisian and General Linguistics, Department of General Linguistics, Institute for Scandinavian Studies, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Roberto E. Herrera Miranda
- Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (INALCO), Paris, France
- Institute of Linguistics, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
- Structure et Dynamique des Langues (SeDyl), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Villejuif, France
- Sprachwissenschaftliches Seminar, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Nataliia Hübler
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Frisian and General Linguistics, Department of General Linguistics, Institute for Scandinavian Studies, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Biu Huntington-Rainey
- Department of Linguistics, School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, London, UK
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London (UCL), University of London, London, UK
- Institutt for Filosofi, ide- og Kunsthistorie og Klassiske Språk (IFIKK), Det Humanistisk Fakultet, Universitet i Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Jessica K. Ivani
- Department of Comparative Linguistics, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Marilen Johns
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Frisian and General Linguistics, Department of General Linguistics, Institute for Scandinavian Studies, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Erika Just
- Department of Comparative Linguistics, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Eri Kashima
- ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
- Department of Linguistics, School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Carolina Kipf
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Frisian and General Linguistics, Department of General Linguistics, Institute for Scandinavian Studies, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Janina V. Klingenberg
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Frisian and General Linguistics, Department of General Linguistics, Institute for Scandinavian Studies, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Nikita König
- Frisian and General Linguistics, Department of General Linguistics, Institute for Scandinavian Studies, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
- Department of Linguistics, European University Viadrina, Frankfur an der Oder, Germany
| | - Aikaterina Koti
- Department of Linguistics and Philology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | | | - Olga Krasnoukhova
- Centre for Linguistics, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands
- Department of Linguistics, University of Antwerpen, Antwerpen, Belgium
| | - Nora L. M. Lindvall
- Department of Linguistics and Philology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Mandy Lorenzen
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Frisian and General Linguistics, Department of General Linguistics, Institute for Scandinavian Studies, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Hannah Lutzenberger
- Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Arts, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Department of English Language and Linguistics, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Tânia R. A. Martins
- Department of Linguistics, School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, London, UK
| | - Celia Mata German
- Department of Linguistics, School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, London, UK
| | - Suzanne van der Meer
- Department of Language and Cognition, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Jaime Montoya Samamé
- Facultad de Letras y Ciencias Humanas, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Perú
| | - Michael Müller
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Saliha Muradoglu
- ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Kelsey Neely
- Department of Linguistics, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Johanna Nickel
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Frisian and General Linguistics, Department of General Linguistics, Institute for Scandinavian Studies, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Miina Norvik
- Institute of Estonian and General Linguistics, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
- Department of Modern Languages, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Cheryl Akinyi Oluoch
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Frisian and General Linguistics, Department of General Linguistics, Institute for Scandinavian Studies, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Jesse Peacock
- Department of Language and Cognition, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Arts, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - India O. C. Pearey
- Department of Linguistics, School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, London, UK
| | - Naomi Peck
- ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
- University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Stephanie Petit
- Department of Linguistics, School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, London, UK
| | - Sören Pieper
- Frisian and General Linguistics, Department of General Linguistics, Institute for Scandinavian Studies, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Mariana Poblete
- Facultad de Letras y Ciencias Humanas, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Perú
- Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Daniel Prestipino
- ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Linda Raabe
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Frisian and General Linguistics, Department of General Linguistics, Institute for Scandinavian Studies, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Amna Raja
- Department of Linguistics, School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, London, UK
| | - Janis Reimringer
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Sydney C. Rey
- Department of Linguistics, School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, London, UK
- The Language Conservancy, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Julia Rizaew
- Department of Linguistics, School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, London, UK
| | - Eloisa Ruppert
- Department of Linguistics, Quantitative Lexicology and Variational Linguistics (QLVL), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Kim K. Salmon
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Jill Sammet
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Frisian and General Linguistics, Department of General Linguistics, Institute for Scandinavian Studies, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Rhiannon Schembri
- ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Lars Schlabbach
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Frisian and General Linguistics, Department of General Linguistics, Institute for Scandinavian Studies, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | | | - Amalia Skilton
- Department of Linguistics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | | | - Hilário de Sousa
- Department of Language and Cognition, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Centre de Recherches Linguistiques sur l'Asie Orientale (CRLAO), École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), Aubervilliers, France
| | - Kristin Sverredal
- Department of Linguistics and Philology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Daniel Valle
- Department of Modern Languages, University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS, USA
| | - Javier Vera
- Facultad de Letras y Ciencias Humanas, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Perú
| | - Judith Voß
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Frisian and General Linguistics, Department of General Linguistics, Institute for Scandinavian Studies, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Tim Witte
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Frisian and General Linguistics, Department of General Linguistics, Institute for Scandinavian Studies, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - Henry Wu
- ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
- International College for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Stephanie Yam
- ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
- Institute for General Linguistics, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Jingting Ye
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Chinese Language and Literature, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Maisie Yong
- Department of Linguistics, School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, London, UK
| | - Tessa Yuditha
- Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Arts, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Department of Spanish, Linguistics, and Theory of Literature (Linguistics), Faculty of Philology, University of Seville, Seville, Spain
| | - Roberto Zariquiey
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Facultad de Letras y Ciencias Humanas, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Perú
| | - Robert Forkel
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Nicholas Evans
- ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
- Department of Linguistics, School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Stephen C. Levinson
- Department of Language and Cognition, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Martin Haspelmath
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Simon J. Greenhill
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | | | - Russell D. Gray
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
- Corresponding author. (H.S.); (R.D.G.)
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11
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Zariquiey R, Vera J, Greenhill SJ, Valenzuela P, Gray RD, List JM. Untangling the evolution of body-part terminology in Pano: conservative versus innovative traits in body-part lexicalization. Interface Focus 2023; 13:20220053. [PMID: 36659979 PMCID: PMC9732641 DOI: 10.1098/rsfs.2022.0053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2022] [Accepted: 11/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Although language-family specific traits which do not find direct counterparts outside a given language family are usually ignored in quantitative phylogenetic studies, scholars have made ample use of them in qualitative investigations, revealing their potential for identifying language relationships. An example of such a family specific trait are body-part expressions in Pano languages, which are often lexicalized forms, composed of bound roots (also called body-part prefixes in the literature) and non-productive derivative morphemes (called here body-part formatives). We use various statistical methods to demonstrate that whereas body-part roots are generally conservative, body-part formatives exhibit diverse chronologies and are often the result of recent and parallel innovations. In line with this, the phylogenetic structure of body-part roots projects the major branches of the family, while formatives are highly non-tree-like. Beyond its contribution to the phylogenetic analysis of Pano languages, this study provides significative insights into the role of grammatical innovations for language classification, the origin of morphological complexity in the Amazon and the phylogenetic signal of specific grammatical traits in language families.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Javier Vera
- Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Peru
| | - Simon J. Greenhill
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
- DLCE, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Sachsen, Germany
| | - Pilar Valenzuela
- World Languages & Cultures, Chapman University, Anaheim, CA, USA
| | - Russell D. Gray
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
- DLCE, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Sachsen, Germany
| | - Johann-Mattis List
- DLCE, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Sachsen, Germany
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12
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Urban M, Panchi EMA, Lee S, Brodetsky E. CINWA (database of terminology for cultivated plants in indigenous languages of northwestern South America): introducing a resource for research in ethnobiology, anthropology, historical linguistics, and interdisciplinary research on the neolithic transition in South America. LANG RESOUR EVAL 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10579-022-09628-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
AbstractThis article introduces CINWA, a freely accessible online database of terminology for cultivated plants in indigenous languages of South America based on FAIR principles for scientific data management and stewardship. In the pre-release version we present here, CINWA assembles more than 2700 terms from more than 60 indigenous languages of northwestern South America, and coverage will be continuously expanded. CINWA is primarily designed for use in historical linguistics to explore patterns of lexical borrowing that might be used as a proxy for tracing the pathways by which knowledge of individual cultivated plants and the associated know-how spread from speech community to speech community in pre-Columbian South America. In spite of intensifying research, this is still unclear for most cultivars as the locales of initial cultivation are heterogeneous and spatially diffuse. However, possible uses of the CINWA database are manifold and go beyond this research question. The database can be used as a resource for ethnobiological and comparative anthropological research on South American communities, South American agricultural ecosystems and practices, and for studies in lexical borrowing, language contact, and historical linguistics broadly.
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Brid N, Messineo C, List JM. A comparative wordlist for the languages of The Gran Chaco, South America. OPEN RESEARCH EUROPE 2022; 2:90. [PMID: 37645292 PMCID: PMC10446078 DOI: 10.12688/openreseurope.14922.2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
Home to more than twenty indigenous languages belonging to six linguistic families, the Gran Chaco has raised the interest of many linguists from different backgrounds. While some have focused on finding deeper genetic relations between different language groups, others have looked into similarities from the perspective of areal linguistics. In order to contribute to further research of areal and genetic features among these languages, we have compiled a comparative wordlist consisting of translational equivalents for 326 concepts - representing basic and ethnobiological vocabulary - for 26 language varieties. Since the data were standardized in various ways, they can be analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. In order to illustrate this in detail, we have carried out an initial computer-assisted analysis of parts of the data by searching for shared lexicosemantic patterns resulting from structural rather than direct borrowings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolás Brid
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Cristina Messineo
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Johann-Mattis List
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, 04103, Germany
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14
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Wood ALC, Kirby KR, Ember CR, Silbert S, Passmore S, Daikoku H, McBride J, Paulay F, Flory MJ, Szinger J, D’Arcangelo G, Bradley KK, Guarino M, Atayeva M, Rifkin J, Baron V, El Hajli M, Szinger M, Savage PE. The Global Jukebox: A public database of performing arts and culture. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0275469. [PMID: 36322519 PMCID: PMC9629617 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0275469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2022] [Accepted: 09/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Standardized cross-cultural databases of the arts are critical to a balanced scientific understanding of the performing arts, and their role in other domains of human society. This paper introduces the Global Jukebox as a resource for comparative and cross-cultural study of the performing arts and culture. The Global Jukebox adds an extensive and detailed global database of the performing arts that enlarges our understanding of human cultural diversity. Initially prototyped by Alan Lomax in the 1980s, its core is the Cantometrics dataset, encompassing standardized codings on 37 aspects of musical style for 5,776 traditional songs from 1,026 societies. The Cantometrics dataset has been cleaned and checked for reliability and accuracy, and includes a full coding guide with audio training examples (https://theglobaljukebox.org/?songsofearth). Also being released are seven additional datasets coding and describing instrumentation, conversation, popular music, vowel and consonant placement, breath management, social factors, and societies. For the first time, all digitized Global Jukebox data are being made available in open-access, downloadable format (https://github.com/theglobaljukebox), linked with streaming audio recordings (theglobaljukebox.org) to the maximum extent allowed while respecting copyright and the wishes of culture-bearers. The data are cross-indexed with the Database of Peoples, Languages, and Cultures (D-PLACE) to allow researchers to test hypotheses about worldwide coevolution of aesthetic patterns and traditions. As an example, we analyze the global relationship between song style and societal complexity, showing that they are robustly related, in contrast to previous critiques claiming that these proposed relationships were an artifact of autocorrelation (though causal mechanisms remain unresolved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna L. C. Wood
- Association for Cultural Equity (ACE), Hunter College, New York City, NY, United States of America
- Centro Studi Alan Lomax, Palermo, Italy
- * E-mail: (ALCW); (PES)
| | - Kathryn R. Kirby
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Carol R. Ember
- Human Relations Area Files at Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | - Stella Silbert
- Association for Cultural Equity (ACE), Hunter College, New York City, NY, United States of America
| | - Sam Passmore
- Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, Keio University, Fujisawa, Japan
- Evolution of Cultural Diversity Initiative, School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Hideo Daikoku
- Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University, Fujisawa, Japan
| | - John McBride
- Center for Soft & Living Matter, Institute for Basic Science, Daejeon, South Korea
| | - Forrestine Paulay
- Association for Cultural Equity (ACE), Hunter College, New York City, NY, United States of America
- Laban/Bartenieff Institute for Movement Studies, New York, NY, United States of America
| | - Michael J. Flory
- Research Design and Analysis Service, New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, Staten Island, NY, United States of America
| | - John Szinger
- Association for Cultural Equity (ACE), Hunter College, New York City, NY, United States of America
| | | | - Karen Kohn Bradley
- Laban/Bartenieff Institute for Movement Studies, New York, NY, United States of America
| | - Marco Guarino
- American Studies Program, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, United States of America
| | - Maisa Atayeva
- Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States of America
| | - Jesse Rifkin
- Association for Cultural Equity (ACE), Hunter College, New York City, NY, United States of America
| | - Violet Baron
- University of Indiana, Folklore & Ethnomusicology, Bloomington, Indiana, United States of America
| | - Miriam El Hajli
- Association for Cultural Equity (ACE), Hunter College, New York City, NY, United States of America
| | - Martin Szinger
- Association for Cultural Equity (ACE), Hunter College, New York City, NY, United States of America
| | - Patrick E. Savage
- Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, Keio University, Fujisawa, Japan
- * E-mail: (ALCW); (PES)
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Abstract
The past decades have seen substantial growth in digital data on the world’s languages. At the same time, the demand for cross-linguistic datasets has been increasing, as witnessed by numerous studies devoted to diverse questions on human prehistory, cultural evolution, and human cognition. Unfortunately, most published datasets lack standardization which makes their comparison difficult. Here, we present a new approach to increase the comparability of cross-linguistic lexical data. We have designed workflows for the computer-assisted lifting of datasets to Cross-Linguistic Data Formats, a collection of standards that make these datasets more Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR). We test the Lexibank workflow on 100 lexical datasets from which we derive an aggregated database of wordlists in unified phonetic transcriptions covering more than 2000 language varieties. We illustrate the benefits of our approach by showing how phonological and lexical features can be automatically inferred, complementing and expanding existing cross-linguistic datasets. Measurement(s) | expressions | Technology Type(s) | data aggregation | Factor Type(s) | none | Sample Characteristic - Organism | human language | Sample Characteristic - Location | global scale |
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Rantanen T, Tolvanen H, Roose M, Ylikoski J, Vesakoski O. Best practices for spatial language data harmonization, sharing and map creation—A case study of Uralic. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0269648. [PMID: 35675367 PMCID: PMC9176854 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0269648] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2021] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite remarkable progress in digital linguistics, extensive databases of geographical language distributions are missing. This hampers both studies on language spatiality and public outreach of language diversity. We present best practices for creating and sharing digital spatial language data by collecting and harmonizing Uralic language distributions as case study. Language distribution studies have utilized various methodologies, and the results are often available as printed maps or written descriptions. In order to analyze language spatiality, the information must be digitized into geospatial data, which contains location, time and other parameters. When compiled and harmonized, this data can be used to study changes in languages’ distribution, and combined with, for example, population and environmental data. We also utilized the knowledge of language experts to adjust previous and new information of language distributions into state-of-the-art maps. The extensive database, including the distribution datasets and detailed map visualizations of the Uralic languages are introduced alongside this article, and they are freely available.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timo Rantanen
- Department of Geography and Geology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- * E-mail:
| | - Harri Tolvanen
- Department of Geography and Geology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Meeli Roose
- Department of Geography and Geology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Jussi Ylikoski
- Giellagas Institute for Saami Studies, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Outi Vesakoski
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
- Department of Finnish language and Finno-Ugric Linguistics, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
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17
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Hantgan A, Babiker H, List JM. First steps towards the detection of contact layers in Bangime: a multi-disciplinary, computer-assisted approach. OPEN RESEARCH EUROPE 2022; 2:10. [PMID: 37645276 PMCID: PMC10445931 DOI: 10.12688/openreseurope.14339.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/12/2022] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
Bangime is a language isolate, which has not been proven to be genealogically related to any other language family, spoken in Central-Eastern Mali. Its speakers, the Bangande, claim affiliation with the Dogon languages and speakers that surround them throughout a cliff range known as the Bandiagara Escarpment. However, recent genetic research has shown that the Bangande are genetically distant from the Dogon and other groups. Furthermore, the Bangande people represent a genetic isolate. Despite the geographic isolation of the Bangande people, evidence of language contact is apparent in the Bangime language. We find a plethora of shared vocabulary with neighboring Atlantic, Dogon, Mande, and Songhai language groups. To address the problem of when and whence this vocabulary emerged in the language, we use a computer-assisted, multidisciplinary approach to investigate layers of contact and inheritance in Bangime. We start from an automated comparison of lexical data from languages belonging to different language families in order to obtain a first account on potential loanword candidates in our sample. In a second step, we use specific interfaces to refine and correct the computational findings. The revised sample is then investigated quantitatively and qualitatively by focusing on vocabularies shared exclusively between specific languages. We couch our results within archeological and historical research from Central-Eastern Mali more generally and propose a scenario in which the Bangande formed part of the expansive Mali Empire that encompassed most of West Africa from the 13th to the 16th centuries. We consider our methods to represent a novel approach to the investigation of a language and population isolate from multiple perspectives using innovative computer-assisted technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abbie Hantgan
- Langage, Langues et Cultures d'Afrique (LLACAN, UMR 8135), Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) and l’Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (INALCO), Paris, France
| | - Hiba Babiker
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Johann-Mattis List
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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18
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Hantgan A, Babiker H, List JM. First steps towards the detection of contact layers in Bangime: a multi-disciplinary, computer-assisted approach. OPEN RESEARCH EUROPE 2022; 2:10. [PMID: 37645276 PMCID: PMC10445931 DOI: 10.12688/openreseurope.14339.2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/12/2022] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
Bangime is a language isolate, which has not been proven to be genealogically related to any other language family, spoken in Central-Eastern Mali. Its speakers, the Bangande, claim affiliation with the Dogon languages and speakers that surround them throughout a cliff range known as the Bandiagara Escarpment. However, recent genetic research has shown that the Bangande are genetically distant from the Dogon and other groups. Furthermore, the Bangande people represent a genetic isolate. Despite the geographic isolation of the Bangande people, evidence of language contact is apparent in the Bangime language. We find a plethora of shared vocabulary with neighboring Atlantic, Dogon, Mande, and Songhai language groups. To address the problem of when and whence this vocabulary emerged in the language, we use a computer-assisted, multidisciplinary approach to investigate layers of contact and inheritance in Bangime. We start from an automated comparison of lexical data from languages belonging to different language families in order to obtain a first account on potential loanword candidates in our sample. In a second step, we use specific interfaces to refine and correct the computational findings. The revised sample is then investigated quantitatively and qualitatively by focusing on vocabularies shared exclusively between specific languages. We couch our results within archeological and historical research from Central-Eastern Mali more generally and propose a scenario in which the Bangande formed part of the expansive Mali Empire that encompassed most of West Africa from the 13th to the 16th centuries. We consider our methods to represent a novel approach to the investigation of a language and population isolate from multiple perspectives using innovative computer-assisted technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abbie Hantgan
- Langage, Langues et Cultures d'Afrique (LLACAN, UMR 8135), Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) and l’Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (INALCO), Paris, France
| | - Hiba Babiker
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Johann-Mattis List
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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19
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Tjuka A, Forkel R, List JM. Linking norms, ratings, and relations of words and concepts across multiple language varieties. Behav Res Methods 2022; 54:864-884. [PMID: 34357536 PMCID: PMC9046307 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-021-01650-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Psychologists and linguists collect various data on word and concept properties. In psychology, scholars have accumulated norms and ratings for a large number of words in languages with many speakers. In linguistics, scholars have accumulated cross-linguistic information about the relations between words and concepts. Until now, however, there have been no efforts to combine information from the two fields, which would allow comparison of psychological and linguistic properties across different languages. The Database of Cross-Linguistic Norms, Ratings, and Relations for Words and Concepts (NoRaRe) is the first attempt to close this gap. Building on a reference catalog that offers standardization of concepts used in historical and typological language comparison, it integrates data from psychology and linguistics, collected from 98 data sets, covering 65 unique properties for 40 languages. The database is curated with the help of manual, automated, semi-automated workflows and uses a software API to control and access the data. The database is accessible via a web application, the software API, or using scripting languages. In this study, we present how the database is structured, how it can be extended, and how we control the quality of the data curation process. To illustrate its application, we present three case studies that test the validity of our approach, the accuracy of our workflows, and the integrative potential of the database. Due to regular version updates, the NoRaRe database has the potential to advance research in psychology and linguistics by offering researchers an integrated perspective on both fields.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annika Tjuka
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Str. 10, 07745, Jena, Germany.
| | - Robert Forkel
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Johann-Mattis List
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
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20
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List JM, Forkel R. Automated identification of borrowings in multilingual wordlists. OPEN RESEARCH EUROPE 2022; 1:79. [PMID: 37645101 PMCID: PMC10445856 DOI: 10.12688/openreseurope.13843.3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/03/2021] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
Although lexical borrowing is an important aspect of language evolution, there have been few attempts to automate the identification of borrowings in lexical datasets. Moreover, none of the solutions which have been proposed so far identify borrowings across multiple languages. This study proposes a new method for the task and tests it on a newly compiled large comparative dataset of 48 South-East Asian languages from Southern China. The method yields very promising results, while it is conceptually straightforward and easy to apply. This makes the approach a perfect candidate for computer-assisted exploratory studies on lexical borrowing in contact areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johann-Mattis List
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Thüringen, 04103, Germany
| | - Robert Forkel
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Thüringen, 04103, Germany
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21
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Winter B, Sóskuthy M, Perlman M, Dingemanse M. Trilled /r/ is associated with roughness, linking sound and touch across spoken languages. Sci Rep 2022; 12:1035. [PMID: 35058475 PMCID: PMC8776840 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-04311-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Cross-modal integration between sound and texture is important to perception and action. Here we show this has repercussions for the structure of spoken languages. We present a new statistical universal linking speech with the evolutionarily ancient sense of touch. Words that express roughness—the primary perceptual dimension of texture—are highly likely to feature a trilled /r/, the most commonly occurring rhotic consonant. In four studies, we show the pattern to be extremely robust, being the first widespread pattern of iconicity documented not just across a large, diverse sample of the world’s spoken languages, but also across numerous sensory words within languages. Our deep analysis of Indo-European languages and Proto-Indo-European roots indicates remarkable historical stability of the pattern, which appears to date back at least 6000 years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bodo Winter
- Department of English Language and Linguistics, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
| | - Márton Sóskuthy
- Department of Linguistics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Marcus Perlman
- Department of English Language and Linguistics, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Mark Dingemanse
- Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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22
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Gerardi FF, Reichert S, Aragon CC. TuLeD (Tupían lexical database): introducing a database of a South American language family. LANG RESOUR EVAL 2021; 55:997-1015. [PMID: 34720783 PMCID: PMC8550058 DOI: 10.1007/s10579-020-09521-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/30/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The last two decades witnessed a rapid growth of publicly accessible online language resources. This has allowed for valuable data on lesser known languages to become available. Such resources provide linguists with opportunities for advancing their research. Yet despite the proliferation of lexical and morphological databases, the ca. 456 languages spoken in South America are poorly represented, particularly the Tupían family, which is the largest on the continent. This paper therefore introduces and discusses TuLeD, a lexical database exclusively devoted to a South American language family. It provides a comprehensive list of lexical items presented in a unified transcription for all languages with cognacy assignment and relevant (cultural or linguistic) notes. One of the main goals of TuLeD is to become a full-fledged database and a benchmark for linguistic studies on South American languages in general and the Tupían family in particular.
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23
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Miller JE, Tresoldi T, Zariquiey R, Beltrán Castañón CA, Morozova N, List JM. Using lexical language models to detect borrowings in monolingual wordlists. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0242709. [PMID: 33296372 PMCID: PMC7725347 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0242709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2020] [Accepted: 11/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Lexical borrowing, the transfer of words from one language to another, is one of the most frequent processes in language evolution. In order to detect borrowings, linguists make use of various strategies, combining evidence from various sources. Despite the increasing popularity of computational approaches in comparative linguistics, automated approaches to lexical borrowing detection are still in their infancy, disregarding many aspects of the evidence that is routinely considered by human experts. One example for this kind of evidence are phonological and phonotactic clues that are especially useful for the detection of recent borrowings that have not yet been adapted to the structure of their recipient languages. In this study, we test how these clues can be exploited in automated frameworks for borrowing detection. By modeling phonology and phonotactics with the support of Support Vector Machines, Markov models, and recurrent neural networks, we propose a framework for the supervised detection of borrowings in mono-lingual wordlists. Based on a substantially revised dataset in which lexical borrowings have been thoroughly annotated for 41 different languages from different families, featuring a large typological diversity, we use these models to conduct a series of experiments to investigate their performance in mono-lingual borrowing detection. While the general results appear largely unsatisfying at a first glance, further tests show that the performance of our models improves with increasing amounts of attested borrowings and in those cases where most borrowings were introduced by one donor language alone. Our results show that phonological and phonotactic clues derived from monolingual language data alone are often not sufficient to detect borrowings when using them in isolation. Based on our detailed findings, however, we express hope that they could prove to be useful in integrated approaches that take multi-lingual information into account.
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Affiliation(s)
- John E. Miller
- Artificial Intelligence/Engineering, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, San Miguel, Lima, Peru
- * E-mail: (JEM); (TT)
| | - Tiago Tresoldi
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- * E-mail: (JEM); (TT)
| | - Roberto Zariquiey
- Humanities Department, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, San Miguel, Lima, Peru
| | - César A. Beltrán Castañón
- Artificial Intelligence/Engineering, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, San Miguel, Lima, Peru
| | - Natalia Morozova
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Johann-Mattis List
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
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24
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Slingerland E, Atkinson QD, Ember CR, Sheehan O, Muthukrishna M, Bulbulia J, Gray RD. Coding culture: challenges and recommendations for comparative cultural databases. EVOLUTIONARY HUMAN SCIENCES 2020; 2:e29. [PMID: 37588354 PMCID: PMC10427479 DOI: 10.1017/ehs.2020.30] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Considerable progress in explaining cultural evolutionary dynamics has been made by applying rigorous models from the natural sciences to historical and ethnographic information collected and accessed using novel digital platforms. Initial results have clarified several long-standing debates in cultural evolutionary studies, such as population origins, the role of religion in the evolution of complex societies and the factors that shape global patterns of language diversity. However, future progress requires recognition of the unique challenges posed by cultural data. To address these challenges, standards for data collection, organisation and analysis must be improved and widely adopted. Here, we describe some major challenges to progress in the construction of large comparative databases of cultural history, including recognising the critical role of theory, selecting appropriate units of analysis, data gathering and sampling strategies, winning expert buy-in, achieving reliability and reproducibility in coding, and ensuring interoperability and sustainability of the resulting databases. We conclude by proposing a set of practical guidelines to meet these challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward Slingerland
- Department of Asian Studies, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | | | - Carol R. Ember
- Human Relations Area Files, Yale University, New Haven, USA
| | - Oliver Sheehan
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Michael Muthukrishna
- Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science, London School of Economics, London, UK
| | - Joseph Bulbulia
- School of Humanities, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Russell D. Gray
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
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25
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Rzymski C, Tresoldi T, Greenhill SJ, Wu MS, Schweikhard NE, Koptjevskaja-Tamm M, Gast V, Bodt TA, Hantgan A, Kaiping GA, Chang S, Lai Y, Morozova N, Arjava H, Hübler N, Koile E, Pepper S, Proos M, Van Epps B, Blanco I, Hundt C, Monakhov S, Pianykh K, Ramesh S, Gray RD, Forkel R, List JM. The Database of Cross-Linguistic Colexifications, reproducible analysis of cross-linguistic polysemies. Sci Data 2020; 7:13. [PMID: 31932593 PMCID: PMC6957499 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-019-0341-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2019] [Accepted: 11/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Advances in computer-assisted linguistic research have been greatly influential in reshaping linguistic research. With the increasing availability of interconnected datasets created and curated by researchers, more and more interwoven questions can now be investigated. Such advances, however, are bringing high requirements in terms of rigorousness for preparing and curating datasets. Here we present CLICS, a Database of Cross-Linguistic Colexifications (CLICS). CLICS tackles interconnected interdisciplinary research questions about the colexification of words across semantic categories in the world's languages, and show-cases best practices for preparing data for cross-linguistic research. This is done by addressing shortcomings of an earlier version of the database, CLICS2, and by supplying an updated version with CLICS3, which massively increases the size and scope of the project. We provide tools and guidelines for this purpose and discuss insights resulting from organizing student tasks for database updates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christoph Rzymski
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany.
| | - Tiago Tresoldi
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany.
| | - Simon J Greenhill
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany.,ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Mei-Shin Wu
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Nathanael E Schweikhard
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | | | - Volker Gast
- Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany
| | | | | | | | - Sophie Chang
- Independent English-Chinese Translator and linguistic researcher, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yunfan Lai
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Natalia Morozova
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | | | - Nataliia Hübler
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Ezequiel Koile
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Russell D Gray
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Robert Forkel
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Johann-Mattis List
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany.
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26
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Power JM, Grimm GW, List JM. Evolutionary dynamics in the dispersal of sign languages. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2020; 7:191100. [PMID: 32218940 PMCID: PMC7029929 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.191100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2019] [Accepted: 12/13/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The evolution of spoken languages has been studied since the mid-nineteenth century using traditional historical comparative methods and, more recently, computational phylogenetic methods. By contrast, evolutionary processes resulting in the diversity of contemporary sign languages (SLs) have received much less attention, and scholars have been largely unsuccessful in grouping SLs into monophyletic language families using traditional methods. To date, no published studies have attempted to use language data to infer relationships among SLs on a large scale. Here, we report the results of a phylogenetic analysis of 40 contemporary and 36 historical SL manual alphabets coded for morphological similarity. Our results support grouping SLs in the sample into six main European lineages, with three larger groups of Austrian, British and French origin, as well as three smaller groups centring around Russian, Spanish and Swedish. The British and Swedish lineages support current knowledge of relationships among SLs based on extra-linguistic historical sources. With respect to other lineages, our results diverge from current hypotheses by indicating (i) independent evolution of Austrian, French and Spanish from Spanish sources; (ii) an internal Danish subgroup within the Austrian lineage; and (iii) evolution of Russian from Austrian sources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin M. Power
- Department of Linguistics, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | | | - Johann-Mattis List
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
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27
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Jackson JC, Watts J, Henry TR, List JM, Forkel R, Mucha PJ, Greenhill SJ, Gray RD, Lindquist KA. Emotion semantics show both cultural variation and universal structure. Science 2019; 366:1517-1522. [DOI: 10.1126/science.aaw8160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 87] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2019] [Accepted: 11/20/2019] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Many human languages have words for emotions such as “anger” and “fear,” yet it is not clear whether these emotions have similar meanings across languages, or why their meanings might vary. We estimate emotion semantics across a sample of 2474 spoken languages using “colexification”—a phenomenon in which languages name semantically related concepts with the same word. Analyses show significant variation in networks of emotion concept colexification, which is predicted by the geographic proximity of language families. We also find evidence of universal structure in emotion colexification networks, with all families differentiating emotions primarily on the basis of hedonic valence and physiological activation. Our findings contribute to debates about universality and diversity in how humans understand and experience emotion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua Conrad Jackson
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Joseph Watts
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- Religion Programme, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
- Center for Research on Evolution, Belief, and Behaviour, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
- Social and Evolutionary Neuroscience Research Group, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Teague R. Henry
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Johann-Mattis List
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Robert Forkel
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Peter J. Mucha
- Carolina Center for Interdisciplinary Applied Mathematics, Department of Mathematics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Department of Applied Physical Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Simon J. Greenhill
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Russell D. Gray
- Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Kristen A. Lindquist
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
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Dellert J, Daneyko T, Münch A, Ladygina A, Buch A, Clarius N, Grigorjew I, Balabel M, Boga HI, Baysarova Z, Mühlenbernd R, Wahle J, Jäger G. NorthEuraLex: a wide-coverage lexical database of Northern Eurasia. LANG RESOUR EVAL 2019; 54:273-301. [PMID: 32214931 PMCID: PMC7067722 DOI: 10.1007/s10579-019-09480-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
This article describes the first release version of a new lexicostatistical database of Northern Eurasia, which includes Europe as the most well-researched linguistic area. Unlike in other areas of the world, where databases are restricted to covering a small number of concepts as far as possible based on often sparse documentation, good lexical resources providing wide coverage of the lexicon are available even for many smaller languages in our target area. This makes it possible to attain near-completeness for a substantial number of concepts. The resulting database provides a basis for rich benchmarks that can be used to test automated methods which aim to derive new knowledge about language history in underresearched areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johannes Dellert
- Seminar für Sprachwissenschaft, Universität Tübingen, Wilhelmstraße 19, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Thora Daneyko
- Seminar für Sprachwissenschaft, Universität Tübingen, Wilhelmstraße 19, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Alla Münch
- Seminar für Sprachwissenschaft, Universität Tübingen, Wilhelmstraße 19, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Alina Ladygina
- Seminar für Sprachwissenschaft, Universität Tübingen, Wilhelmstraße 19, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Armin Buch
- Seminar für Sprachwissenschaft, Universität Tübingen, Wilhelmstraße 19, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Natalie Clarius
- Seminar für Sprachwissenschaft, Universität Tübingen, Wilhelmstraße 19, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Ilja Grigorjew
- Seminar für Sprachwissenschaft, Universität Tübingen, Wilhelmstraße 19, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Mohamed Balabel
- Seminar für Sprachwissenschaft, Universität Tübingen, Wilhelmstraße 19, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Hizniye Isabella Boga
- Seminar für Sprachwissenschaft, Universität Tübingen, Wilhelmstraße 19, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Zalina Baysarova
- Seminar für Sprachwissenschaft, Universität Tübingen, Wilhelmstraße 19, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Roland Mühlenbernd
- Seminar für Sprachwissenschaft, Universität Tübingen, Wilhelmstraße 19, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Johannes Wahle
- Seminar für Sprachwissenschaft, Universität Tübingen, Wilhelmstraße 19, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Gerhard Jäger
- Seminar für Sprachwissenschaft, Universität Tübingen, Wilhelmstraße 19, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
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29
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Abstract
Given its size and geographical extension, Sino-Tibetan is of the highest importance for understanding the prehistory of East Asia, and of neighboring language families. Based on a dataset of 50 Sino-Tibetan languages, we infer phylogenies that date the origin of the language family to around 7200 B.P., linking the origin of the language family with the late Cishan and the early Yangshao cultures. The Sino-Tibetan language family is one of the world’s largest and most prominent families, spoken by nearly 1.4 billion people. Despite the importance of the Sino-Tibetan languages, their prehistory remains controversial, with ongoing debate about when and where they originated. To shed light on this debate we develop a database of comparative linguistic data, and apply the linguistic comparative method to identify sound correspondences and establish cognates. We then use phylogenetic methods to infer the relationships among these languages and estimate the age of their origin and homeland. Our findings point to Sino-Tibetan originating with north Chinese millet farmers around 7200 B.P. and suggest a link to the late Cishan and the early Yangshao cultures.
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