Journal of Language Evolution最新文献_第10页

Conference Report on Evolang 11 关于Evolang的会议报告

IF 2.6

Journal of Language Evolution Pub Date : 2016-07-01 DOI: 10.1093/JOLE/LZW010

L. Barceló-Coblijn, Cory Cuthbertson, K. Graham, S. Hartmann, M. Pleyer

{"title":"Conference Report on Evolang 11","authors":"L. Barceló-Coblijn, Cory Cuthbertson, K. Graham, S. Hartmann, M. Pleyer","doi":"10.1093/JOLE/LZW010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/JOLE/LZW010","url":null,"abstract":"The 11th International Conference on the Evolution of Language (Evolang 11) was hosted at the Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life at Tulane University in New Orleans, LA, USA, from 21 March to 24 March 2016. The University of Southern Mississippi organised the conference, with Heidi Lyn as Chair of the local organising committee. Over 200 delegates gathered for this second American Evolang, and were treated not only to a wide range of current research in language origins and evolution, but also to local ‘NOLA’ food and culture as well. Evolang hosted a reception at Mardi Gras World—a stylised warehouse storing numerous Mardi Gras floats and costumes, where guests were serenaded with a brass band and committee members threw beads into the amused, cocktail-sipping crowd. The conference banquet was held at the colonial-era-style Audubon Tea Room with live jazz and a swing dancing lesson led by Thom Scott-Phillips. Post-conference events included a ghost tour, swamp tours, and a plantation tour.\u0000\u0000This was the 20th anniversary of the very first Evolang, held in Edinburgh in 1996, and saw the release of the first issue of the Journal of Language Evolution . With a 20-year history, it is hardly surprising that there has been a strong ‘self-reflective’ tendency at recent Evolang conferences, as witnessed, for example, in the ‘Perspectives on Evolang’ section in the proceedings of Evolang 10 (Cartmill et al. 2014), as well as in some of the contributions in the first issue of JoLE (Dediu and de Boer 2016; Hammarstrom 2016). Something that is repeatedly mentioned in these publications is the observation that ‘work on language evolution has become much more rigorous: we are discovering methods by which questions we could formerly only speculate about can now be investigated empirically’ (de Boer 2014). These ‘self-reflective’ tendencies were also exemplified …","PeriodicalId":37118,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language Evolution","volume":"1 1","pages":"159-162"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2016-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1093/JOLE/LZW010","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"61534243","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}

引用次数: 2

Double-blind reviewing at EvoLang 11 reveals gender bias EvoLang 11的双盲评估揭示了性别偏见

IF 2.6

Journal of Language Evolution Pub Date : 2016-07-01 DOI: 10.1093/JOLE/LZW009

Seán G. Roberts, T. Verhoef

引用次数: 53

Quantifying ocular morphologies in extant primates for reliable interspecific comparisons 为可靠的种间比较，量化现存灵长类动物的眼形态

IF 2.6

Journal of Language Evolution Pub Date : 2016-07-01 DOI: 10.1093/JOLE/LZW004

J. García

{"title":"Quantifying ocular morphologies in extant primates for reliable interspecific comparisons","authors":"J. García","doi":"10.1093/JOLE/LZW004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/JOLE/LZW004","url":null,"abstract":"Cross-examining evidence from comparative morphology has become a way to support specific hypotheses in social cognition. In particular, ocular morphology has been compared across extant primate species in order to argue that humans present a unique morphology that enables also an uniquely human array of socio-cognitive functions—including a crucial role in the acquisition and practice of linguistic abilities. Even though some of these comparisons have relied on quantifiable dimensions of ocular morphology, other aspects of the comparison have been established qualitatively, based on subjective ratings. In this article, I present a new method that intends to restrain the focus of attention to one specific perceptual aspect of ocular morphology—namely, the contrast between scleral and iridal colors, as it is thought to enable (or ease) gaze following from other individuals. The method also allows for more reliable comparisons across extant primate species, as it relies on quantifiable measurements. I exemplify the potential of this method with a three-fold comparison of three great ape species ( Pongo pygmaeus , Pongo abelii , and Homo sapiens ).","PeriodicalId":37118,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language Evolution","volume":"58 1","pages":"151-158"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2016-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1093/JOLE/LZW004","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"61534186","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}

引用次数: 12

The typology and diachrony of higher numerals in Indo-European: a phylogenetic comparative study 印欧语高级数字的类型学和历时:系统发育的比较研究

IF 2.6

Journal of Language Evolution Pub Date : 2016-07-01 DOI: 10.1093/JOLE/LZW003

Andreea S. Calude, Annemarie Verkerk

{"title":"The typology and diachrony of higher numerals in Indo-European: a phylogenetic comparative study","authors":"Andreea S. Calude, Annemarie Verkerk","doi":"10.1093/JOLE/LZW003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/JOLE/LZW003","url":null,"abstract":"Numerals have fascinated and mystified linguists, mathematicians and lay persons alike for centuries. The productive use of numerals (in languages where this happens) exploits recursivity to give rise to what we call the ‘the number line’. While the smaller numerals 1–10 have enjoyed intense scrutiny, the typological study of the formation of the higher numerals has received comparatively less attention. This article contains a comprehensive typological account of how languages in the Indo-European language family code numerals beyond 10 (10–99, 100s, 1,000s), the morphemes involved, and how these are ordered. We use this dataset from eighty-one Indo-European languages with phylogenetic comparative methods to propose diachronic reconstructions of these patterns in the Proto-Indo-European language. Our findings indicate that small numerals (11–19) show the widest cross-linguistic variation, and that higher numerals exhibit more consistency in both component parts and their ordering. Additionally, we show statistical evidence of correlations between the ordering of base and atom morphemes and other word order patterns (noun-postposition, noun-genitive, and verb-object order).","PeriodicalId":37118,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language Evolution","volume":"1 1","pages":"91-108"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2016-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1093/JOLE/LZW003","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"61533876","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}

引用次数: 24

Measuring conventionalization in the manual modality 以手工方式测量约定俗成

IF 2.6

Journal of Language Evolution Pub Date : 2016-07-01 DOI: 10.1093/JOLE/LZW005

Savithry Namboodiripad, Daniel Lenzen, R. Lepic, T. Verhoef

{"title":"Measuring conventionalization in the manual modality","authors":"Savithry Namboodiripad, Daniel Lenzen, R. Lepic, T. Verhoef","doi":"10.1093/JOLE/LZW005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/JOLE/LZW005","url":null,"abstract":"Gestures produced by users of spoken languages differ from signs produced by users of sign languages in that gestures are more typically ad hoc and idiosyncratic, while signs are more typically conventionalized and shared within a language community. To measure how gestures may change over time as a result of the process of conventionalization, we used a social coordination game to elicit repeated silent gestures from hearing non-signers, and used Microsoft Kinect to unobtrusively track the movement of their bodies as they gestured. Our approach follows from a tradition of laboratory experiments designed to study language evolution and draws upon insights from sign language research on language emergence. Working with silent gesture, we were able to simulate and quantify hallmarks of conventionalization that have been described for sign languages, in the laboratory. With Kinect, we measured a reduction in the size of the articulatory space and a decrease in the distance traveled by the articulators, while communicative success increased between participants over time. This approach opens the door for more direct future comparisons between ad hoc gestures produced in the lab and natural sign languages in the world.","PeriodicalId":37118,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language Evolution","volume":"1 1","pages":"109-118"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2016-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"61534265","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}

引用次数: 20

How to analyze linguistic change using mixed models, Growth Curve Analysis and Generalized Additive Modeling 如何使用混合模型、增长曲线分析和广义加性建模来分析语言变化

IF 2.6

Journal of Language Evolution Pub Date : 2016-01-01 DOI: 10.1093/JOLE/LZV003

Bodo Winter, Martijn B. Wieling

引用次数: 104

Language evolution and climate: the case of desiccation and tone 语言演变与气候:以干燥和语气为例

IF 2.6

Journal of Language Evolution Pub Date : 2016-01-01 DOI: 10.1093/JOLE/LZV004

C. Everett, Damián E. Blasi, Seán G. Roberts

引用次数: 60

Commentary: Tone languages and laryngeal precision 注释:声调语言和喉音的准确性

IF 2.6

Journal of Language Evolution Pub Date : 2016-01-01 DOI: 10.1093/JOLE/LZV014

D. Ladd

{"title":"Commentary: Tone languages and laryngeal precision","authors":"D. Ladd","doi":"10.1093/JOLE/LZV014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/JOLE/LZV014","url":null,"abstract":"In this response I make three distinct points. First and most important, I identify a logical premise of Everett et al.’s (2016) explanation for the correlation between humidity and complex tone, and briefly present empirical evidence that the premise is questionable. Second (and ultimately equally important), I point out that their definition of ‘complex tone’ is equivocal between two quite distinct senses. Third, I offer a speculative alternative approach to explaining the correlation. Everett et al. emphasize that they have formulated a hypothesis and tested it empirically. That is, they predict on independent grounds that tone languages should be more common where humidity is high, and then provide evidence that this prediction is valid. The logic of their prediction is as follows: They provide plenty of evidence for the first premise, and (lacking relevant specialist knowledge in statistics) I am willing to accept their demonstration of the geographical correlation that supports the conclusion. However, there is good reason to doubt the second premise. Over the course of many years, I have conducted studies in which speakers read prepared sentences under studio conditions. These studies have generally aimed to test the effect of specific structural manipulations on fundamental frequency (F0) at specific points in the utterance. For example, in one such experiment (Ladd 1988), I compared English sentences of the form A and B but C and A but B and C (where A, B , and C are short clauses), looking for (and finding) F0 differences on the accented syllables of the clauses depending on the structure. A consistent finding in all these studies is that, for any given speaker, mean F0 …","PeriodicalId":37118,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language Evolution","volume":"1 1","pages":"70-72"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2016-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1093/JOLE/LZV014","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"61533725","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}

引用次数: 10

Commentary: Beyond tone and climate: broadening the framework 评论:超越基调和气氛:拓宽框架

IF 2.6

Journal of Language Evolution Pub Date : 2016-01-01 DOI: 10.1093/JOLE/LZV006

Ljiljana Progovac, M. Ratliff

{"title":"Commentary: Beyond tone and climate: broadening the framework","authors":"Ljiljana Progovac, M. Ratliff","doi":"10.1093/JOLE/LZV006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/JOLE/LZV006","url":null,"abstract":"In this commentary, we address some general questions regarding the use of statistical methods for the purposes of correlating linguistic with nonlinguistic features, as well as engage some specific claims in the position article by Everett et al. (2016). In the process, we attempt to arrive at possible causes for misunderstandings among researchers coming from different disciplines. This short piece is not meant to be a thorough review of the article, but simply to focus on those areas where we can provide some productive feedback. First, we do believe that it is an empirical question whether or not certain linguistic features are influenced by external forces, and one should indeed pursue such research questions using statistical methods. As pointed out by Ladd et al. (2015), correlational studies of this kind can help one choose among competing hypotheses. While it is true that finding a correlation does not necessarily establish causation, it is also true that having discovered a correlation is better than having none. In addition, understanding how human language evolved will require such approaches. Perhaps part of the reason why some linguists seem skeptical about the findings of this kind has to do with what we can call a problem of proportion. Isolated studies like this, without being embedded in a comprehensive framework, may suggest to the reader, even when this is not claimed by the author(s), that a linguistic phenomenon can be completely reduced to a nonlinguistic factor. What would help would be to embed these findings into a larger, more comprehensive framework about change in phonological systems, as well as how these systems evolve. Against the background of such a comprehensive framework, one can then try to determine how much of a role is played by climate as opposed to other factors, such as language-internal …","PeriodicalId":37118,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language Evolution","volume":"117 1","pages":"77-79"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2016-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1093/JOLE/LZV006","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"61532957","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}

引用次数: 4

Commentary: Culture mediates the effects of humidity on language 评论:文化调节湿度对语言的影响

IF 2.6

Journal of Language Evolution Pub Date : 2016-01-01 DOI: 10.1093/JOLE/LZV009

Mark Donohue

{"title":"Commentary: Culture mediates the effects of humidity on language","authors":"Mark Donohue","doi":"10.1093/JOLE/LZV009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/JOLE/LZV009","url":null,"abstract":"Does (the presence or complexity of) tone inversely correlate with dryness of climate? The authors (Everett et al.) suggest that the absence of ambient humidity in the air negatively correlates with the presence of (complex?) lexical tone, partly because of the effect that dry air has to increase the difficulty in achieving precise articulatory targets. There are two main problems with the argumentation used. 1. Conflating ‘tone’ with ‘pitch’ or ‘fundamental frequency’, and mistaking ‘complexity’ with a syllable domain for tone assignment; 2. conflating ‘dry climate’ with the absence of humidity. The authors are not guilty in an absolute sense of these problems, acknowledging that there are complications. Their reliance on pitch contrasts as a proxy for tonal category contrasts, and the use of air humidity rather than (easily available) climate information for the ranges of different languages means that the authors are dealing with ephemeral correlations between proxy features. In the next two sections, I will critique the use of tone primarily to refer to distinctions realised by pitch, and the use of humidity as a powerful explanatory for the existence of tone categories. The authors acknowledge that ‘many non-pitch phenomena are associated with the production of tone, including ancillary laryngealization and duration influences’, but go on to claim that ‘the heightened role of F0 (and therefore pitch) in languages with complex tone is evident in the fact that its fine-grained modulation is required on every or almost every syllable, in contrast to pitch accent languages’. First, this …","PeriodicalId":37118,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Language Evolution","volume":"67 1","pages":"57-60"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2016-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1093/JOLE/LZV009","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"61533440","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}

引用次数: 9