Register | Sign In


Understanding through Discussion


EvC Forum active members: 65 (9162 total)
6 online now:
Newest Member: popoi
Post Volume: Total: 915,810 Year: 3,067/9,624 Month: 912/1,588 Week: 95/223 Day: 6/17 Hour: 2/1


Thread  Details

Email This Thread
Newer Topic | Older Topic
  
Author Topic:   Evolution of Languages
Mammuthus
Member (Idle past 6475 days)
Posts: 3085
From: Munich, Germany
Joined: 08-09-2002


Message 16 of 16 (72056)
12-10-2003 9:46 AM
Reply to: Message 15 by MrHambre
12-10-2003 9:10 AM


Re: Old School
Here is another example where language and mtDNA genetics correlations sort of flops.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1993 Nov 15;90(22):10663-7. Related Articles, Links
Genetic and linguistic differentiation in the Americas.
Ward RH, Redd A, Valencia D, Frazier B, Paabo S.
Department of Human Genetics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City 84112.
The relationship between linguistic differentiation and evolutionary affinities was evaluated in three tribes of the Pacific Northwest. Two tribes (Nuu-Chah-Nulth and Bella Coola) speak Amerind languages, while the language of the third (Haida) belongs to a different linguistic phylum--Na-Dene. Construction of a molecular phylogeny gave no evidence of clustering by linguistic affiliation, suggesting a relatively recent ancestry of these linguistically divergent populations. When the evolutionary affinities of the tribes were evaluated in terms of mitochondrial sequence diversity, the Na-Dene-speaking Haida had a reduced amount of diversity compared to the two Amerind tribes and thus appear to be a biologically younger population. Further, since the sequence diversity between the two Amerind-speaking tribes is comparable to the diversity between the Amerind tribes and the Na-Dene Haida, the evolutionary divergence within the Amerind linguistic phylum may be as great as the evolutionary divergence between the Amerind and Na-Dene phyla. Hence, in the New World, rates of linguistic differentiation appear to be markedly faster than rates of biological differentiation, with little congruence between linguistic hierarchy and the pattern of evolutionary relationships.
I think the correlation will exist if the groups are fairly isolated or xenophobic and are in areas without long histories of invading or being invaded. Otherwise you will see things like language replacement with no correlation in the gene pool. It also gets progressively more difficult to study since one consequence of globalization is that more and more languages are becoming extinct.
I agree that Syaminem has not produced much new since his hits like "Downy with homey" or "Calgon in Compton". It has been particularly bad since his former group N.W.A. (Nganjuk Washes Away) broke up and Fred Dumbst formed his own more successful group Limp Caddy. Who can forget such hits as "It aint no GA thang"? Apparently the third memeber of the group Easy Ex Nihilo was trying to create his own band..but nothing ever came of it.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 15 by MrHambre, posted 12-10-2003 9:10 AM MrHambre has not replied

  
Newer Topic | Older Topic
Jump to:


Copyright 2001-2023 by EvC Forum, All Rights Reserved

™ Version 4.2
Innovative software from Qwixotic © 2024