Phylogenetic Models of Language Change: Three New Questions

Russell Gray; Simon Greenhill; Quentin D. Atkinson

doi:10.7551/mitpress/9780262019750.003.0015

Phylogenetic Models of Language Change: Three New Questions

Russell Gray, Simon Greenhill, Quentin D. Atkinson

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review

Abstract

Computational methods derived from evolutionary biology are increasingly being applied to the study of cultural evolution. This is particularly the case in studies of language evolution, where phylogenetic methods have recently been used to test hypotheses about divergence dates, rates of lexical change, borrowing, and putative language universals. This chapter outlines three new and related questions that could be productively tackled with computational phylogenetic methods: What drives language diversifi cation? What drives differences in the rate of linguistic change (disparity)? Can we identify cultural and linguistic homelands?

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Cultural Evolution: Society, Technology, Language, and Religion
Editors	Peter J Richerson & Morten H Christiansen
Place of Publication	Cambridge, MA and London
Publisher	MIT Press
Pages	285-302
Volume	1
Edition	1st
ISBN (Print)	9780262019750
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/9780262019750.003.0015
Publication status	Published - 2013

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10.7551/mitpress/9780262019750.003.0015

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Phylogenetic Models of Language Change: Three New Questions. / Gray, Russell; Greenhill, Simon; Atkinson, Quentin D.
Cultural Evolution: Society, Technology, Language, and Religion. ed. / Peter J Richerson & Morten H Christiansen. Vol. 1 1st. ed. Cambridge, MA and London: MIT Press, 2013. p. 285-302.

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review

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Phylogenetic Models of Language Change: Three New Questions

Abstract

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