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  Language trees support the express-train sequence of Austronesian expansion

Gray, R., & Jordan, F. (2000). Language trees support the express-train sequence of Austronesian expansion. Nature, 405, 1052-1055. doi:10.1038/35016575.

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Item Permalink: https://hdl.handle.net/11858/00-001M-0000-0013-3698-A Version Permalink: https://hdl.handle.net/11858/00-001M-0000-0013-3699-8
Genre: Journal Article

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Gray 2000 Nature.pdf (Publisher version), 168KB
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 Creators:
Gray, Russell1, Author
Jordan, Fiona2, Author
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1University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand
2UCL Anthropology, 14 Taviton St, London WC1E 6BT, UK

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 Abstract: Languages, like molecules, document evolutionary history. Darwin(1) observed that evolutionary change in languages greatly resembled the processes of biological evolution: inheritance from a common ancestor and convergent evolution operate in both. Despite many suggestions(2-4), few attempts have been made to apply the phylogenetic methods used in biology to linguistic data. Here we report a parsimony analysis of a large language data set. We use this analysis to test competing hypotheses - the "express-train''(5) and the "entangled-bank''(6,7) models - for the colonization of the Pacific by Austronesian-speaking peoples. The parsimony analysis of a matrix of 77 Austronesian languages with 5,185 lexical items produced a single most-parsimonious tree. The express-train model was converted into an ordered geographical character and mapped onto the language tree. We found that the topology of the language tree was highly compatible with the express-train model.

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Language(s): eng - English
 Dates: 2000
 Publication Status: Issued
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 Rev. Type: Peer
 Identifiers: DOI: 10.1038/35016575
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Title: Nature
Source Genre: Journal
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Pages: - Volume / Issue: 405 Sequence Number: - Start / End Page: 1052 - 1055 Identifier: Other: 954925427238
ISSN: 0028-0836