Leona Polyanskaya, Stavros Skopeteas, Peter Halama, Robin Hollenbach, Mikhail Ordin
Across world languages, grammatical meanings tend to be expressed by suffixes. Whether this bias is defined by shaping language so that it is easily processed by domain-general cognitive mechanisms or whether the bias is specific to the language domain has not been resolved. Most evidence supporting these competing hypotheses focuses on the effect of suffixing bias on inflectional morphology and ignores derivational morphology. Here, we explored suffixing bias in German and Slovak populations. These languages are strongly suffixing in terms of inflectional morphology but differ in verbal derivational morphology. Verbal prefixes can be detached from the root in the German language and are always attached to the root in the Slovak language. We explored whether suffixing bias can be observed in both populations while detecting and memorizing linguistic and nonlinguistic sequences in a continuous sensory input by means of statistical learning mechanisms. We found that suffixes facilitate statistical learning more than prefixes on linguistic material, and the effect was not observed on nonlinguistic material, suggesting that suffixing bias is specific to speech. When people are forced to choose between suffixed and prefixed sequences from the familiarization stream, German speakers show a stronger preference for suffixed sequences, while Slovak speakers do not show any preference; hence, properties of derivational morphology of the ambient language can modulate suffixing bias.
{"title":"Derivational morphology and suffixing bias on linguistic and nonlinguistic material","authors":"Leona Polyanskaya, Stavros Skopeteas, Peter Halama, Robin Hollenbach, Mikhail Ordin","doi":"10.1093/jole/lzae005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jole/lzae005","url":null,"abstract":"Across world languages, grammatical meanings tend to be expressed by suffixes. Whether this bias is defined by shaping language so that it is easily processed by domain-general cognitive mechanisms or whether the bias is specific to the language domain has not been resolved. Most evidence supporting these competing hypotheses focuses on the effect of suffixing bias on inflectional morphology and ignores derivational morphology. Here, we explored suffixing bias in German and Slovak populations. These languages are strongly suffixing in terms of inflectional morphology but differ in verbal derivational morphology. Verbal prefixes can be detached from the root in the German language and are always attached to the root in the Slovak language. We explored whether suffixing bias can be observed in both populations while detecting and memorizing linguistic and nonlinguistic sequences in a continuous sensory input by means of statistical learning mechanisms. We found that suffixes facilitate statistical learning more than prefixes on linguistic material, and the effect was not observed on nonlinguistic material, suggesting that suffixing bias is specific to speech. When people are forced to choose between suffixed and prefixed sequences from the familiarization stream, German speakers show a stronger preference for suffixed sequences, while Slovak speakers do not show any preference; hence, properties of derivational morphology of the ambient language can modulate suffixing bias.","PeriodicalId":37118,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language Evolution","volume":"44 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142181610","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Unlike studies of the evolutionary relationship between languages, the dialect-level variation within a language has seldom been studied within the framework of a phylogenetic tree, because frequent lexical borrowing muddles the evidence of shared ancestry. The phonological history of Japanese is an exceptional case study where the phenomenon called accentual class merger enables the phylogenetic analysis of dialectal pitch-accent systems in a way that is not subject to borrowing. However, previous studies have lacked statistical analysis and failed to evaluate the relative credence of alternative hypotheses. Here we developed a novel substitution model that describes the mutation of pitch-accent systems driven by accentual class merger and integrated the model into the framework of Bayesian phylogenetic inference with geographical diffusion. Applying the method to data on the pitch-accent variation in modern Japanese dialects and historical documents collected from literature, we reconstructed the evolutionary history and spatial diffusion of pitch-accent systems. Our result supports the monophyly of each of three groups of pitch-accent systems in conventional categorization, namely Tokyo type, Keihan type, and N-kei (N-pattern) type of Kyushu, whereas the monophyly of the Tokyo type has been highly controversial in previous studies. The divergence time of the mainland pitch-accent systems was estimated to be from mid-Kofun to early Heian period. Also, it is suggested that the modern Kyoto dialect did not inherit its accent patterns from Bumoki but from an unrecorded lineage which survived from the Muromachi period. Analyses on geographical diffusion suggest that the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of all the taxa and that of Keihan type were located in or around the Kinki region, whereas the MRCA of N-kei type was located in northern to central Kyushu. The geographical location of the MRCA of Tokyo type remains unclear, but the Kinki and Kanto regions are the most plausible candidates.
与语言之间进化关系的研究不同，一种语言内部方言层面的变异很少在系统发生树的框架内进行研究，因为频繁的词汇借用会混淆共同祖先的证据。日语的语音史是一个特殊的研究案例，在这一案例中，重音类合并现象使得对方言音高-重音系统的系统发生学分析不受借用的影响。然而，以往的研究缺乏统计分析，也未能评估其他假说的相对可信度。在此，我们建立了一个新的替代模型，该模型描述了由重音类合并驱动的音调-声调系统的变异，并将该模型整合到了贝叶斯系统发育推断与地理扩散的框架中。我们将该方法应用于从文献中收集的现代日本方言和历史文献中的变音数据，重建了变音系统的进化历史和空间扩散。我们的研究结果支持传统分类中的三组音调-声调系统，即东京型、京阪型和九州 N 音型的单系性，而东京型的单系性在以往的研究中一直存在很大争议。据估计，大陆音调系统的分化时间为古文中期至平安时代早期。此外，还有人认为，现代京都方言的重音模式并不是从文木继承的，而是从室町时代遗留下来的一个没有记录的语系继承的。地理扩散分析表明，所有类群的最近共同祖先（MRCA）和京阪类型的最近共同祖先位于近畿地区或其周围，而 N-kei 类型的最近共同祖先位于九州北部至中部。东京类型的 MRCA 的地理位置仍不清楚，但近畿和关东地区是最有可能的候选地。
{"title":"Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of pitch-accent systems based on accentual class merger: a new method applied to Japanese dialects","authors":"Takuya Takahashi, Ayaka Onohara, Yasuo Ihara","doi":"10.1093/jole/lzae004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jole/lzae004","url":null,"abstract":"Unlike studies of the evolutionary relationship between languages, the dialect-level variation within a language has seldom been studied within the framework of a phylogenetic tree, because frequent lexical borrowing muddles the evidence of shared ancestry. The phonological history of Japanese is an exceptional case study where the phenomenon called accentual class merger enables the phylogenetic analysis of dialectal pitch-accent systems in a way that is not subject to borrowing. However, previous studies have lacked statistical analysis and failed to evaluate the relative credence of alternative hypotheses. Here we developed a novel substitution model that describes the mutation of pitch-accent systems driven by accentual class merger and integrated the model into the framework of Bayesian phylogenetic inference with geographical diffusion. Applying the method to data on the pitch-accent variation in modern Japanese dialects and historical documents collected from literature, we reconstructed the evolutionary history and spatial diffusion of pitch-accent systems. Our result supports the monophyly of each of three groups of pitch-accent systems in conventional categorization, namely Tokyo type, Keihan type, and N-kei (N-pattern) type of Kyushu, whereas the monophyly of the Tokyo type has been highly controversial in previous studies. The divergence time of the mainland pitch-accent systems was estimated to be from mid-Kofun to early Heian period. Also, it is suggested that the modern Kyoto dialect did not inherit its accent patterns from Bumoki but from an unrecorded lineage which survived from the Muromachi period. Analyses on geographical diffusion suggest that the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of all the taxa and that of Keihan type were located in or around the Kinki region, whereas the MRCA of N-kei type was located in northern to central Kyushu. The geographical location of the MRCA of Tokyo type remains unclear, but the Kinki and Kanto regions are the most plausible candidates.","PeriodicalId":37118,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language Evolution","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141785778","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This paper presents a scientometric study of the evolution of evolutionary linguistics, a multidisciplinary field that investigates the origin and evolution of language. We apply network science methods to analyse changes in the connections among core concepts discussed in the Causal Hypotheses in Evolutionary Linguistics Database, a searchable database of causal hypotheses in evolutionary linguistics. Our analysis includes a multipartite network of 416 papers, 742 authors, and 1,786 variables such as ‘population birth rate’ and ‘linguistic complexity’. Our findings indicate a significant increase in the size of concept networks from 1886 to 2022, providing an account of the growth and diversification of evolutionary linguistics as a field. We describe eight major clusters of concepts, and characterize the connections within and between clusters. Finally, we identify hypotheses cutting across clusters of concepts that have a high-betweenness centrality, implying that they might have a higher impact on the field if proven right (or wrong). Furthermore, we discuss the role of databases in cultural evolution and scientometrics, emphasizing the value of interdisciplinary connections and the potential for further cross-disciplinary collaboration in the field of Evolutionary Linguistics.
{"title":"The evolution of evolutionary linguistics","authors":"Poonam Brar, Chico Q Camargo","doi":"10.1093/jole/lzae003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jole/lzae003","url":null,"abstract":"This paper presents a scientometric study of the evolution of evolutionary linguistics, a multidisciplinary field that investigates the origin and evolution of language. We apply network science methods to analyse changes in the connections among core concepts discussed in the Causal Hypotheses in Evolutionary Linguistics Database, a searchable database of causal hypotheses in evolutionary linguistics. Our analysis includes a multipartite network of 416 papers, 742 authors, and 1,786 variables such as ‘population birth rate’ and ‘linguistic complexity’. Our findings indicate a significant increase in the size of concept networks from 1886 to 2022, providing an account of the growth and diversification of evolutionary linguistics as a field. We describe eight major clusters of concepts, and characterize the connections within and between clusters. Finally, we identify hypotheses cutting across clusters of concepts that have a high-betweenness centrality, implying that they might have a higher impact on the field if proven right (or wrong). Furthermore, we discuss the role of databases in cultural evolution and scientometrics, emphasizing the value of interdisciplinary connections and the potential for further cross-disciplinary collaboration in the field of Evolutionary Linguistics.","PeriodicalId":37118,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language Evolution","volume":"145 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141523232","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Humans categorize the experience they encounter in various ways, which is mirrored, for instance, in grammatical gender systems of languages. In such systems, nouns are grouped based on whether they refer to masculine/feminine beings, (non-)humans, (in)animate entities, or objects with specific shapes. Languages differ greatly in how many gender assignment rules are incorporated in gender systems and how many word classes carry gender marking (gender agreement patterns). It has been suggested that these two dimensions are positively associated as numerous assignment rules are better sustained by numerous agreement patterns. We test this claim by analyzing the correlated evolution (Continuous method in BayesTraits) and making the causal inferences about the relationships (phylogenetic path analysis) between these 2 dimensions in 482 languages from the global Grambank database. By applying these methods to linguistic data matched to phylogenetic trees (a world tree and individual families), we evaluate whether various types of gender assignment rules (semantic, phonological, and unpredictable) are causally linked to more gender agreement patterns on the global level and in individual language families. Our results on the world language tree suggest that semantic rules are weakly positively correlated with gender agreement and that the development of agreement patterns is facilitated by different rules in individual families. For example, in Indo-European languages, more agreement patterns are caused by the presence of phonological and unpredictable rules, while in Bantu languages, the driving force of agreement patterns is the variety of semantic rules. Our study shows that the relationships between agreement and rules are family-specific and yields support to the idea that more distinct rules and/or rule types might be more robust in languages with more pervasive gender agreement.
{"title":"Evolutionary pathways of complexity in gender systems","authors":"Olena Shcherbakova, Marc Allassonnière-Tang","doi":"10.1093/jole/lzae001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jole/lzae001","url":null,"abstract":"Humans categorize the experience they encounter in various ways, which is mirrored, for instance, in grammatical gender systems of languages. In such systems, nouns are grouped based on whether they refer to masculine/feminine beings, (non-)humans, (in)animate entities, or objects with specific shapes. Languages differ greatly in how many gender assignment rules are incorporated in gender systems and how many word classes carry gender marking (gender agreement patterns). It has been suggested that these two dimensions are positively associated as numerous assignment rules are better sustained by numerous agreement patterns. We test this claim by analyzing the correlated evolution (Continuous method in BayesTraits) and making the causal inferences about the relationships (phylogenetic path analysis) between these 2 dimensions in 482 languages from the global Grambank database. By applying these methods to linguistic data matched to phylogenetic trees (a world tree and individual families), we evaluate whether various types of gender assignment rules (semantic, phonological, and unpredictable) are causally linked to more gender agreement patterns on the global level and in individual language families. Our results on the world language tree suggest that semantic rules are weakly positively correlated with gender agreement and that the development of agreement patterns is facilitated by different rules in individual families. For example, in Indo-European languages, more agreement patterns are caused by the presence of phonological and unpredictable rules, while in Bantu languages, the driving force of agreement patterns is the variety of semantic rules. Our study shows that the relationships between agreement and rules are family-specific and yields support to the idea that more distinct rules and/or rule types might be more robust in languages with more pervasive gender agreement.","PeriodicalId":37118,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language Evolution","volume":"109 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140073417","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Marek Placiński, Przemysław Żywiczyński, Theresa Matzinger, Marta Sibierska, Monika Boruta-Żywiczyńska, Anna Szala, Sławomir Wacewicz
Abstract Due to the robust iconic potential of visual representations, gestural, and pantomimic hypotheses of language origins are well suited to provide solutions to the bootstrapping problem: how to begin communicating when no signs yet exist. However, the one-off, unstandardised nature of improvised gestures and pantomimes implies substantial costs in terms of time, cognitive effort, and replication fidelity. Hence, gestural and pantomimic hypotheses point to pressures for efficiency that would streamline the originally unwieldy embodied representations into forms that are progressively reduced, take up less space and time, and are less costly to produce. Pantomimic theories of language origins are especially interesting from this perspective since they put a spotlight on the transition from whole-body pantomimes into manual-only gestures. These processes, which we refer to as reduction and manual specialisation, have been virtually unaddressed with direct measurement. We report an experiment in which participants used whole-body pantomimes to communicate a set of transitive actions. Motion-capture technology was used to measure the kinematic characteristics of participants’ movements. In line with the prediction of pantomimic hypotheses of language origins, we saw an increase in the ratio of hand and arm movements versus the movements of other bodily articulators, suggesting a gradual transition from more costly whole-body pantomime to more economic manual gesture. We also found that with successive rounds of interaction, the volume of participants’ movements and the path travelled by their bodily articulators decreased.
{"title":"Evolution of Pantomime in Dyadic Interaction. A Motion Capture Study","authors":"Marek Placiński, Przemysław Żywiczyński, Theresa Matzinger, Marta Sibierska, Monika Boruta-Żywiczyńska, Anna Szala, Sławomir Wacewicz","doi":"10.1093/jole/lzad010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jole/lzad010","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Due to the robust iconic potential of visual representations, gestural, and pantomimic hypotheses of language origins are well suited to provide solutions to the bootstrapping problem: how to begin communicating when no signs yet exist. However, the one-off, unstandardised nature of improvised gestures and pantomimes implies substantial costs in terms of time, cognitive effort, and replication fidelity. Hence, gestural and pantomimic hypotheses point to pressures for efficiency that would streamline the originally unwieldy embodied representations into forms that are progressively reduced, take up less space and time, and are less costly to produce. Pantomimic theories of language origins are especially interesting from this perspective since they put a spotlight on the transition from whole-body pantomimes into manual-only gestures. These processes, which we refer to as reduction and manual specialisation, have been virtually unaddressed with direct measurement. We report an experiment in which participants used whole-body pantomimes to communicate a set of transitive actions. Motion-capture technology was used to measure the kinematic characteristics of participants’ movements. In line with the prediction of pantomimic hypotheses of language origins, we saw an increase in the ratio of hand and arm movements versus the movements of other bodily articulators, suggesting a gradual transition from more costly whole-body pantomime to more economic manual gesture. We also found that with successive rounds of interaction, the volume of participants’ movements and the path travelled by their bodily articulators decreased.","PeriodicalId":37118,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language Evolution","volume":"98 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135010728","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Iconicity has been described as an impetus for creating sign forms in emerging sign languages and forming signs in established sign languages. Iconic signs are defined as spontaneous or stable signs that directly reflect the representation of their referent. In established sign languages, iconic signs have phonological features. Regarding the link between the motivation for iconic signs and phonological features, we aim to investigate how iconicity might influence the emergence of a phonological system along with the evolution of a new sign language by observing how the rise of a phonological system might be revealed by the evolution of emerging iconic gestures and signs in a new sign language. For this purpose, we inventoried and coded the iconicity nature and phonological structure of 200 signed lexical items collected in two moments of Sao Tome and Principe Sign Language (LGSTP) emergence: at T1 (after 2 years since the deaf habitants initiated their social meetings) and T2 (8 years subsequent to T1 data collection). In the 8 years of LGSTP’s emergence, we found a dominance of iconic signs in tandem with changes in the signs’ internal structure. The handshape is revealed to be the phonological parameter with the greatest development, presenting itself as more complex. The LGSTP lexicon reveals that iconicity seems to prompt the emergence of sign forms. However, iconic strategies remain stable across the evolution of the emergent signs and are independent of the internal structure change of the sign.
{"title":"Iconicity in the emergence of a phonological system?","authors":"Mara Moita, A. Abreu, Ana Mineiro","doi":"10.1093/jole/lzad009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jole/lzad009","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Iconicity has been described as an impetus for creating sign forms in emerging sign languages and forming signs in established sign languages. Iconic signs are defined as spontaneous or stable signs that directly reflect the representation of their referent. In established sign languages, iconic signs have phonological features. Regarding the link between the motivation for iconic signs and phonological features, we aim to investigate how iconicity might influence the emergence of a phonological system along with the evolution of a new sign language by observing how the rise of a phonological system might be revealed by the evolution of emerging iconic gestures and signs in a new sign language. For this purpose, we inventoried and coded the iconicity nature and phonological structure of 200 signed lexical items collected in two moments of Sao Tome and Principe Sign Language (LGSTP) emergence: at T1 (after 2 years since the deaf habitants initiated their social meetings) and T2 (8 years subsequent to T1 data collection). In the 8 years of LGSTP’s emergence, we found a dominance of iconic signs in tandem with changes in the signs’ internal structure. The handshape is revealed to be the phonological parameter with the greatest development, presenting itself as more complex. The LGSTP lexicon reveals that iconicity seems to prompt the emergence of sign forms. However, iconic strategies remain stable across the evolution of the emergent signs and are independent of the internal structure change of the sign.","PeriodicalId":37118,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language Evolution","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2023-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47486693","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Marta Sibierska, Przemysław Żywiczyński, J. Zlatev, Joost van de Weijer, Monika Boruta-Żywiczyńska
Pantomime is a means of bodily visual communication that is based on iconic gestures that are not fully conventional. It has become a key element in many models of language evolution and a strong candidate for the original human-specific communicative system (Zlatev et al. 2020). Although pantomime affords successful communication in many contexts, it has some semiotic limitations. In this study, we looked at one of them, connected with communicating the order of events in stories. We assumed that pantomime is well-suited for communicating simple stories, where events are arranged in chronological order, and less so for communicating complex stories, where events are arranged in a non-chronological order. To test this assumption, we designed a semiotic game in which participants took turns as directors and matchers. The task of the directors was to mime a story in one of two conditions: chronological or non-chronological; the task of the matchers was to interpret what was mimed. The results showed that the chronological condition was easier for the participants. In the non-chronological condition, we observed that initially, poor communicative success improved as the participants started to use various markers of event order. The results of our study provide insight into the early stages of conventionalisation in bodily visual communication, a potential first step towards protolanguage.
哑剧是一种身体视觉交流的方式，它基于不完全传统的标志性手势。它已成为许多语言进化模型的关键因素，也是原始人类特定交际系统的有力候选者(Zlatev et al. 2020)。虽然哑剧在许多语境中提供了成功的交流，但它有一些符号学上的限制。在这项研究中，我们研究了其中一个，与故事中事件的顺序沟通有关。我们认为哑剧非常适合于传达简单的故事，因为事件是按时间顺序排列的，而不太适合于传达复杂的故事，因为事件是按非时间顺序排列的。为了验证这一假设，我们设计了一个符号学游戏，参与者轮流担任导演和撮合者。导演的任务是在以下两种情况下模仿一个故事:按时间顺序或按非时间顺序;匹配器的任务是解释所模仿的内容。结果表明，时间顺序条件对参与者来说更容易。在非时间顺序条件下，我们观察到，最初，当参与者开始使用各种事件顺序标记时，不良的交际成功有所改善。我们的研究结果为身体视觉交流的常规化的早期阶段提供了见解，这是向原始语言迈出的潜在的第一步。
{"title":"Constraints on communicating the order of events in stories through pantomime","authors":"Marta Sibierska, Przemysław Żywiczyński, J. Zlatev, Joost van de Weijer, Monika Boruta-Żywiczyńska","doi":"10.1093/jole/lzad008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jole/lzad008","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Pantomime is a means of bodily visual communication that is based on iconic gestures that are not fully conventional. It has become a key element in many models of language evolution and a strong candidate for the original human-specific communicative system (Zlatev et al. 2020). Although pantomime affords successful communication in many contexts, it has some semiotic limitations. In this study, we looked at one of them, connected with communicating the order of events in stories. We assumed that pantomime is well-suited for communicating simple stories, where events are arranged in chronological order, and less so for communicating complex stories, where events are arranged in a non-chronological order. To test this assumption, we designed a semiotic game in which participants took turns as directors and matchers. The task of the directors was to mime a story in one of two conditions: chronological or non-chronological; the task of the matchers was to interpret what was mimed. The results showed that the chronological condition was easier for the participants. In the non-chronological condition, we observed that initially, poor communicative success improved as the participants started to use various markers of event order. The results of our study provide insight into the early stages of conventionalisation in bodily visual communication, a potential first step towards protolanguage.","PeriodicalId":37118,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language Evolution","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2023-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48037166","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sandra Auderset, Simon J. Greenhill, Christian T. DiCanio, Eric W. Campbell
Subgrouping language varieties within dialect continua poses challenges for the application of the comparative method of historical linguistics, and similar claims have been made for the use of Bayesian phylogenetic methods. In this article, we present the first Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of the Mixtecan language family of southern Mexico and show that the method produces valuable results and new insights with respect to subgrouping beyond what the comparative method and dialect geography have provided. Our findings reveal potential new subgroups that should be further investigated. We show that some unexpected groupings raise important questions for phylogenetics and historical linguistics about the effects of different methods of primary data gathering and organization that should be considered when interpreting subgrouping results.
{"title":"Subgrouping in a ‘dialect continuum’: A Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of the Mixtecan language family","authors":"Sandra Auderset, Simon J. Greenhill, Christian T. DiCanio, Eric W. Campbell","doi":"10.1093/jole/lzad004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jole/lzad004","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Subgrouping language varieties within dialect continua poses challenges for the application of the comparative method of historical linguistics, and similar claims have been made for the use of Bayesian phylogenetic methods. In this article, we present the first Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of the Mixtecan language family of southern Mexico and show that the method produces valuable results and new insights with respect to subgrouping beyond what the comparative method and dialect geography have provided. Our findings reveal potential new subgroups that should be further investigated. We show that some unexpected groupings raise important questions for phylogenetics and historical linguistics about the effects of different methods of primary data gathering and organization that should be considered when interpreting subgrouping results.","PeriodicalId":37118,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language Evolution","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2023-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41486364","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In a pair of artificial language experiments, we investigated the learnability and emergence of different dependency structures: branching, center-embedding, and crossed. In natural languages, branching is the most common dependency structure; center-embedding occurs but is often disfavored, and crossed dependencies are very rare. Experiment 1 addressed learnability, testing comprehension, and production on small artificial languages exemplifying each dependency type in noun phrases. As expected, branching dependency grammars were the easiest to learn, but crossed grammars were not different from center-embedding. Experiment 2 employed iterated learning to examine the emergence and stabilization of consistent grammar using the same type of stimuli as Experiment 1. The initial participant in each chain of transmission was trained on phrases generated by a random grammar, with the language produced by that participant passed to the next participant through an iterated learning process. Branching dependency grammar appeared in most chains within a few generations and remained stable once it appeared, although one chain stabilized on output consistent with a crossed grammar; no chains converged on center-embedding grammars. These findings, along with some previous results, call into question the assumption that crossed dependencies are more cognitively complex than center-embedding, while confirming the role of learnability in the typology of dependency structures.
{"title":"The learnability and emergence of dependency structures in an artificial language","authors":"Emily Davis, Kenny Smith","doi":"10.1093/jole/lzad006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jole/lzad006","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 In a pair of artificial language experiments, we investigated the learnability and emergence of different dependency structures: branching, center-embedding, and crossed. In natural languages, branching is the most common dependency structure; center-embedding occurs but is often disfavored, and crossed dependencies are very rare. Experiment 1 addressed learnability, testing comprehension, and production on small artificial languages exemplifying each dependency type in noun phrases. As expected, branching dependency grammars were the easiest to learn, but crossed grammars were not different from center-embedding. Experiment 2 employed iterated learning to examine the emergence and stabilization of consistent grammar using the same type of stimuli as Experiment 1. The initial participant in each chain of transmission was trained on phrases generated by a random grammar, with the language produced by that participant passed to the next participant through an iterated learning process. Branching dependency grammar appeared in most chains within a few generations and remained stable once it appeared, although one chain stabilized on output consistent with a crossed grammar; no chains converged on center-embedding grammars. These findings, along with some previous results, call into question the assumption that crossed dependencies are more cognitively complex than center-embedding, while confirming the role of learnability in the typology of dependency structures.","PeriodicalId":37118,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language Evolution","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2023-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47825148","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A recent quantitative study claims language structure, whether quantified as morphological or information-theoretic complexity, to be unaffected by the proportion of those speaking the language non-natively [A. Koplenig, Royal Society Open Science, 6, 181274 (2019)]. This result hinges on either the use of a categorical notion of ‘vehicularity’ as a proxy for the proportion of L2 (second-language) speakers, or the imputation of an assumed zero proportion of L2 speakers for languages that are considered non-vehicular but for which no direct estimate of that proportion exists. We provide two alternative analyses of the same data. The first reanalysis treats uncertain non-vehicular languages as missing data points; the second one employs multiple imputation to fill in the missing data. Mixed effects models find a statistically significant negative relationship between proportion of L2 speakers and morphological complexity: in both reanalyses, a higher proportion of L2 speakers predicts lower morphological complexity. We find no statistically significant evidence for a relationship between proportion of L2 speakers and information-theoretic complexity, however.
{"title":"Language structure is influenced by the proportion of non-native speakers: A reply to","authors":"Henri Kauhanen, Sarah Einhaus, G. Walkden","doi":"10.1093/jole/lzad005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jole/lzad005","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 A recent quantitative study claims language structure, whether quantified as morphological or information-theoretic complexity, to be unaffected by the proportion of those speaking the language non-natively [A. Koplenig, Royal Society Open Science, 6, 181274 (2019)]. This result hinges on either the use of a categorical notion of ‘vehicularity’ as a proxy for the proportion of L2 (second-language) speakers, or the imputation of an assumed zero proportion of L2 speakers for languages that are considered non-vehicular but for which no direct estimate of that proportion exists. We provide two alternative analyses of the same data. The first reanalysis treats uncertain non-vehicular languages as missing data points; the second one employs multiple imputation to fill in the missing data. Mixed effects models find a statistically significant negative relationship between proportion of L2 speakers and morphological complexity: in both reanalyses, a higher proportion of L2 speakers predicts lower morphological complexity. We find no statistically significant evidence for a relationship between proportion of L2 speakers and information-theoretic complexity, however.","PeriodicalId":37118,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language Evolution","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2023-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42801896","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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