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  The evolution of language families is shaped by the environment beyond neutral drift

Bentz, C., Dediu, D., Verkerk, A., & Jäger, G. (2018). The evolution of language families is shaped by the environment beyond neutral drift. Nature Human Behaviour, 2, 816-821. doi:10.1038/s41562-018-0457-6.

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 Creators:
Bentz, Christian, Author
Dediu, Dan, Author
Verkerk, Annemarie1, 2, 3, Author           
Jäger, Gerhard, Author
Affiliations:
1Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Max Planck Society, ou_2074311              
2Evolutionary Processes in Language and Culture, MPI for Psycholinguistics, Max Planck Society, ou_55210              
3International Max Planck Research School for Language Sciences, MPI for Psycholinguistics, Max Planck Society, Nijmegen, NL, ou_1119545              

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 Abstract: There are more than 7,000 languages spoken in the world today1. It has been argued that the natural and social environment of languages drives this diversity2–13. However, a fundamental question is how strong are environmental pressures, and does neutral drift suffice as a mechanism to explain diversification? We estimate the phylogenetic signals of geographic dimensions, distance to water, climate and population size on more than 6,000 phylogenetic trees of 46 language families. Phylogenetic signals of environmental factors are generally stronger than expected under the null hypothesis of no relationship with the shape of family trees. Importantly, they are also—in most cases—not compatible with neutral drift models of constant-rate change across the family tree branches. Our results suggest that language diversification is driven by further adaptive and non-adaptive pressures. Language diversity cannot be understood without modelling the pressures that physical, ecological and social factors exert on language users in different environments across the globe.

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Language(s): eng - English
 Dates: 2018-11-05
 Publication Status: Published online
 Pages: 6
 Publishing info: -
 Table of Contents: -
 Rev. Type: Peer
 Identifiers: DOI: 10.1038/s41562-018-0457-6
Other: shh1101
 Degree: -

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Title: Nature Human Behaviour
Source Genre: Journal
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Publ. Info: London : Nature Research
Pages: - Volume / Issue: 2 Sequence Number: - Start / End Page: 816 - 821 Identifier: ISSN: 2397-3374
CoNE: https://pure.mpg.de/cone/journals/resource/2397-3374