Inheritability and transmissibility of linguistic and other cultural features : The coevolution of noun categorization and kinship systems
(2022) International Conference on Historical Linguistics 2022- Abstract
- The presentation will focus on the extent to which linguistic and other cultural features are vertically or horizontally transmitted in relation to human population history, and how such processes lead to the coevolution of languages and other cultural traits. Structural features of language may vary in their inherent propensity to become transmitted vertically (by lineage) or horizontally (via contact). As an example, grammatical gender is commonly transmitted within language families (Allassonnière-Tang and Dunn 2020; Carling and Cathcart 2021). The same scenario is present for cultural features: in particular, systems of kinship are strongly inclined towards vertical transmissibility (Guglielmino et al. 1995), and can be reconstructed... (More)
- The presentation will focus on the extent to which linguistic and other cultural features are vertically or horizontally transmitted in relation to human population history, and how such processes lead to the coevolution of languages and other cultural traits. Structural features of language may vary in their inherent propensity to become transmitted vertically (by lineage) or horizontally (via contact). As an example, grammatical gender is commonly transmitted within language families (Allassonnière-Tang and Dunn 2020; Carling and Cathcart 2021). The same scenario is present for cultural features: in particular, systems of kinship are strongly inclined towards vertical transmissibility (Guglielmino et al. 1995), and can be reconstructed to earlier states of language families (Fortunato and Jordan 2010; Jordan et al. 2009). We take typological data for 3044 languages worldwide for gender, noun class and classifier systems, which we test for geographic and phylogenetic cohesion. We find that more grammaticalized features, i.e., gender and noun class, are more likely to be transmitted by lineage, whereas classifier systems are more likely to be transmitted by contact. By contrasting to climatological data, we find that it is highly likely that the global patterns of distribution for these systems (gender/noun class and classifiers) are caused by migrations and contact events during the mid-Holocene period (Allassonnière-Tang et al. 2021). In relation to this result, we suspect that the expansion of these linguistic systems by migration may pertain to mid-Holocene change in subsistence systems (i.e., emergence of agricultural systems), which may coevolve with other cultural changes in for instance kinship systems. Preliminary tests of correlation between presence of gender/noun class and cultural features, such as patrilocality and agricultural systems, indicate that this is a likely scenario. We test various models, including mixed models accounting for area and family as random effects. We also conduct a phylogenetic analysis of correlated evolution (Dunn et al. 2011) between the linguistic and cultural features involved in our study.
Allassonnière-Tang, Marc and Dunn, Michael (2020), 'The evolutionary trends of grammatical gender in Indo-Aryan languages', Language Dynamics and Change, 11 (2), 211-40.
Allassonnière-Tang, Marc, et al. (2021), 'Expansion by migration and diffusion by contact is a source to the global diversity of linguistic nominal categorization systems', Nature Humanities & Social Science - Communications
Carling, Gerd and Cathcart, Chundra (2021), 'Reconstructing the evolution of Indo-European grammar', Language 97(3).
Dunn, Michael, et al. (2011), 'Evolved structure of language shows lineage-specific trends in word-order universals', Nature, 473 (7345), 79-82.
Fortunato, Laura and Jordan, Fiona (2010), 'Your place or mine? A phylogenetic comparative analysis of marital residence in Indo-European and Austronesian societies', Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 365 (1559), 3913-22.
Guglielmino, C. R., et al. (1995), 'Cultural Variation in Africa: Role of Mechanisms of Transmission and Adaptation', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 92 (16), 7585-89.
Jordan, Fiona M., et al. (2009), 'Matrilocal residence is ancestral in Austronesian societies', Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 276 (1664), 1957-64. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/96dc6ad7-285e-4b7d-8d46-48facf404bb6
- author
- Carling, Gerd LU and Allassonnière-Tang, Marc
- organization
- publishing date
- 2022-08-01
- type
- Contribution to conference
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- noun categorization, language evolution, phylogenetics, kinship
- conference name
- International Conference on Historical Linguistics 2022
- conference location
- Oxford, United Kingdom
- conference dates
- 2022-08-01 - 2022-08-05
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 96dc6ad7-285e-4b7d-8d46-48facf404bb6
- alternative location
- https://ichl.ling-phil.ox.ac.uk/abstracts/107
- date added to LUP
- 2022-08-30 10:28:35
- date last changed
- 2023-02-06 11:49:19
@misc{96dc6ad7-285e-4b7d-8d46-48facf404bb6,
abstract = {{The presentation will focus on the extent to which linguistic and other cultural features are vertically or horizontally transmitted in relation to human population history, and how such processes lead to the coevolution of languages and other cultural traits. Structural features of language may vary in their inherent propensity to become transmitted vertically (by lineage) or horizontally (via contact). As an example, grammatical gender is commonly transmitted within language families (Allassonnière-Tang and Dunn 2020; Carling and Cathcart 2021). The same scenario is present for cultural features: in particular, systems of kinship are strongly inclined towards vertical transmissibility (Guglielmino et al. 1995), and can be reconstructed to earlier states of language families (Fortunato and Jordan 2010; Jordan et al. 2009). We take typological data for 3044 languages worldwide for gender, noun class and classifier systems, which we test for geographic and phylogenetic cohesion. We find that more grammaticalized features, i.e., gender and noun class, are more likely to be transmitted by lineage, whereas classifier systems are more likely to be transmitted by contact. By contrasting to climatological data, we find that it is highly likely that the global patterns of distribution for these systems (gender/noun class and classifiers) are caused by migrations and contact events during the mid-Holocene period (Allassonnière-Tang et al. 2021). In relation to this result, we suspect that the expansion of these linguistic systems by migration may pertain to mid-Holocene change in subsistence systems (i.e., emergence of agricultural systems), which may coevolve with other cultural changes in for instance kinship systems. Preliminary tests of correlation between presence of gender/noun class and cultural features, such as patrilocality and agricultural systems, indicate that this is a likely scenario. We test various models, including mixed models accounting for area and family as random effects. We also conduct a phylogenetic analysis of correlated evolution (Dunn et al. 2011) between the linguistic and cultural features involved in our study.<br/>Allassonnière-Tang, Marc and Dunn, Michael (2020), 'The evolutionary trends of grammatical gender in Indo-Aryan languages', Language Dynamics and Change, 11 (2), 211-40.<br/>Allassonnière-Tang, Marc, et al. (2021), 'Expansion by migration and diffusion by contact is a source to the global diversity of linguistic nominal categorization systems', Nature Humanities & Social Science - Communications<br/>Carling, Gerd and Cathcart, Chundra (2021), 'Reconstructing the evolution of Indo-European grammar', Language 97(3).<br/>Dunn, Michael, et al. (2011), 'Evolved structure of language shows lineage-specific trends in word-order universals', Nature, 473 (7345), 79-82.<br/>Fortunato, Laura and Jordan, Fiona (2010), 'Your place or mine? A phylogenetic comparative analysis of marital residence in Indo-European and Austronesian societies', Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 365 (1559), 3913-22.<br/>Guglielmino, C. R., et al. (1995), 'Cultural Variation in Africa: Role of Mechanisms of Transmission and Adaptation', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 92 (16), 7585-89.<br/>Jordan, Fiona M., et al. (2009), 'Matrilocal residence is ancestral in Austronesian societies', Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 276 (1664), 1957-64.}},
author = {{Carling, Gerd and Allassonnière-Tang, Marc}},
keywords = {{noun categorization; language evolution; phylogenetics; kinship}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{08}},
title = {{Inheritability and transmissibility of linguistic and other cultural features : The coevolution of noun categorization and kinship systems}},
url = {{https://ichl.ling-phil.ox.ac.uk/abstracts/107}},
year = {{2022}},
}