Across the curious parallel of language and species evolution
2008
Language and Species Evolution
publication
Evidence: moderate
Author Information
Author(s): John Whitfield
Hypothesis
Are the dynamics of language evolution similar to those of biological evolution?
Conclusion
The study reveals striking similarities between the dynamics of biological evolution and language change.
Supporting Evidence
- Languages and genomes show extraordinary similarities in their evolution.
- The frequency of word use can predict rates of lexical evolution.
- Languages change slowly for a long time and then undergo sudden bursts of change.
Takeaway
This study shows that languages change in ways similar to how species evolve, with both having patterns of slow change followed by bursts of rapid change.
Methodology
The study uses evolutionary analysis tools to compare language change and biological evolution.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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