Grambank reveals the importance of genealogical constraints on linguistic diversity and highlights the impact of language loss
Author
Skirgård, H.Haynie, H.J.
Blasi, D.E.
Hammarström, H.
Collins, J.
Latarche, J.J.
Lesage, J.
Weber, T.
Witzlack-Makarevich, A.
Passmore, S.
Chira, A.
Maurits, L.
Dinnage, R.
Dunn, M.
Reesink, G.
Singer, R.
Bowern, C.
Epps, P.
Hill, J.
Vesakoski, O.
Robbeets, M.
Abbas, N.K.
Auer, D.
Bakker, N.A.
Barbos, G.
Borges, R.D.
Danielsen, S.
Dorenbusch, L.
Dorn, E.
Elliott, J.
Falcone, G.
Fischer, J.
Ghanggo, Ate, Y.
Gibson, H.
Göbel, H.-P.
Goodall, J.A.
Gruner, V.
Harvey, A.
Hayes, R.
Heer, L.
Herrera, Miranda, R.E.
Hübler, N.
Huntington-Rainey, B.
Ivani, J.K.
Johns, M.
Just, E.
Kashima, E.
Kipf, C.
Klingenberg, J.V.
König, N.
Koti, A.
Kowalik, R.G.A.
Krasnoukhova, O.
Lindvall, N.L.M.
Lorenzen, M.
Lutzenberger, H.
Martins, T.R.A.
German, C.M.
van der Linden, C.
Samamé, J.M.
Müller, M.
Muradoglu, S.
Neely, K.
Nickel, J.
Norvik, M.
Oluoch, C.A.
Peacock, J.
Pearey, I.O.C.
Peck, N.
Petit, S.
Pieper, S.
Poblete, M.
Prestipino, D.
Raabe, L.
Raja, A.
Reimringer, J.
Rey, S.C.
Rizaew, J.
Ruppert, E.
Salmon, K.K.
Sammet, J.
Schembri, R.
Schlabbach, L.
Schmidt, F.W.P.
Skilton, A.
Smith, W.D.
de Sousa, H.
Sverredal, K.
Valle, D.
Vera, J.
Voß, J.
Witte, T.
Wu, H.
Yam, S.
Ye, J.
Yong, M.
Yuditha, T.
Zariquiey, R.
Forkel, R.
Evans, N.
Levinson, S.C.
Haspelmath, M.
Greenhill, S.J.
Atkinson, Q.D.
Gray, R.D.
Affiliation
School of Anthropology, University of ArizonaIssue Date
2023-04-19
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Hedvig Skirgård et al. ,Grambank reveals the importance of genealogical constraints on linguistic diversity and highlights the impact of language loss.Sci. Adv.9,eadg6175(2023).DOI:10.1126/sciadv.adg6175Journal
Science AdvancesRights
© 2023 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0.Collection Information
This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at repository@u.library.arizona.edu.Abstract
While global patterns of human genetic diversity are increasingly well characterized, the diversity of human languages remains less systematically described. Here, we outline the Grambank database. With over 400,000 data points and 2400 languages, Grambank is the largest comparative grammatical database available. The comprehensiveness of Grambank allows us to quantify the relative effects of genealogical inheritance and geographic proximity on the structural diversity of the world’s languages, evaluate constraints on linguistic diversity, and identify the world’s most unusual languages. An analysis of the consequences of language loss reveals that the reduction in diversity will be strikingly uneven across the major linguistic regions of the world. Without sustained efforts to document and revitalize endangered languages, our linguistic window into human history, cognition, and culture will be seriously fragmented. Copyright © 2023 The Authors, some rights reserved.Note
Open access journalISSN
2375-2548PubMed ID
37075104Version
Final Published Versionae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1126/sciadv.adg6175
Scopus Count
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as © 2023 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0.
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