scholarly journals Bayesian phylogenetic analysis supports an agricultural origin of Japonic languages

2011 ◽  
Vol 278 (1725) ◽  
pp. 3662-3669 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean Lee ◽  
Toshikazu Hasegawa
Keyword(s):  
Linguistic Diversity ◽  
Language Evolution ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Striking Similarity ◽  
Agricultural Expansion ◽  
Bayesian Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
The People ◽  
History Of ◽  
Linguistic Evolution ◽  
Lexical Data

Languages, like genes, evolve by a process of descent with modification. This striking similarity between biological and linguistic evolution allows us to apply phylogenetic methods to explore how languages, as well as the people who speak them, are related to one another through evolutionary history. Language phylogenies constructed with lexical data have so far revealed population expansions of Austronesian, Indo-European and Bantu speakers. However, how robustly a phylogenetic approach can chart the history of language evolution and what language phylogenies reveal about human prehistory must be investigated more thoroughly on a global scale. Here we report a phylogeny of 59 Japonic languages and dialects. We used this phylogeny to estimate time depth of its root and compared it with the time suggested by an agricultural expansion scenario for Japanese origin. In agreement with the scenario, our results indicate that Japonic languages descended from a common ancestor approximately 2182 years ago. Together with archaeological and biological evidence, our results suggest that the first farmers of Japan had a profound impact on the origins of both people and languages. On a broader level, our results are consistent with a theory that agricultural expansion is the principal factor for shaping global linguistic diversity.

Processes of Ethnic Interaction and Integration in Ethiopian History: the Case of the Agaw

1988 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taddesse Tamrat
Keyword(s):  
Linguistic Diversity ◽  
Northern Ethiopia ◽  
General Picture ◽  
The People ◽  
State And Society ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ancient Times ◽  
Ethiopian Region ◽  
Written Materials ◽  
North Western

The earliest documents available on the Ethiopian region, in the form of Greek and Ge'ez inscriptions, give a general picture of considerable ethnic and linguistic diversity in a relatively small area of northern Ethiopia. One of the ethnic groups referred to then and subsequently, with remarkable continuity from pre-Aksumite times until the present day, is the Agaw. Different sections of the Agaw seem to have constituted an important part of the population occupying the highland interior of northern Ethiopia from ancient times. In the early days of the gradual formation and consolidation of the Aksumite state, they seem at first to have been peripheral to the process, which was clearly dominated by the Semitic-speaking inhabitants of the area. Later, however, they assumed an increasing importance, so much so that they eventually took over political leadership, establishing the great Zagwe dynasty. The dynasty lasted for about two hundred years, and transmitted the institutions as well as the cultural and historical traditions of Aksum, almost intact, to later generations.The exact processes of this development cannot be reconstructed for those early days. Instead, this article is a preliminary attempt to understand the integration of the Agaw into the state and society of the Ethiopian empire over hundreds, even thousands of years, by considering a relatively recent period in the history of the Agaw in the northern and north-western parts of Gojjam. The considerable sense of history which the people of this area possess, going back to the time of its conquest and conversion in the seventeenth century, together with the existence of written materials for the period, provide an opportunity to study a particular example of the entry of the Agaw into the civilization of Christian Ethiopia which may throw light upon the more distant past of their ancestors.

Influence of the tree prior and sampling scale on Bayesian phylogenetic estimates of the origin times of language families

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 108-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew M Ritchie ◽  
Simon Y W Ho
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Language Evolution ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Cultural Groups ◽  
Phylogenetic Methods ◽  
History Of ◽  
Erroneous Estimate ◽  
Coalescent Tree ◽  
Lexical Data

Abstract Bayesian phylogenetic methods derived from evolutionary biology can be used to reconstruct the history of human languages using databases of cognate words. These analyses have produced exciting results regarding the origins and dispersal of linguistic and cultural groups through prehistory. Bayesian lexical dating requires the specification of priors on all model parameters. This includes the use of a prior on divergence times, often combined with a prior on tree topology and referred to as a tree prior. Violation of the underlying assumptions of the tree prior can lead to an erroneous estimate of the timescale of language evolution. To investigate these impacts, we tested the sensitivity of Bayesian dating to the tree prior in analyses of four lexical data sets. Our results show that estimates of the origin times of language families are robust to the choice of tree prior for lexical data, though less so than when Bayesian phylogenetic methods are used to analyse genetic data sets. We also used the relative fit of speciation and coalescent tree priors to determine the ability of speciation models to describe language diversification at four different taxonomic levels. We found that speciation priors were preferred over a constant-size coalescent prior regardless of taxonomic scale. However, data sets with narrower taxonomic and geographic sampling exhibited a poorer fit to ideal birth–death model expectations. Our results encourage further investigation into the nature of language diversification at different sampling scales.

scholarly journals A Bayesian phylogenetic study of the Dravidian language family

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 171504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vishnupriya Kolipakam ◽  
Fiona M. Jordan ◽  
Michael Dunn ◽  
Simon J. Greenhill ◽  
Remco Bouckaert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Central India ◽  
Phylogenetic Study ◽  
Language Family ◽  
Considerable Uncertainty ◽  
Bayesian Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
Language Groups ◽  
History Of ◽  
Lexical Data ◽  
Dravidian Language

The Dravidian language family consists of about 80 varieties (Hammarström H. 2016 Glottolog 2.7 ) spoken by 220 million people across southern and central India and surrounding countries (Steever SB. 1998 In The Dravidian languages (ed. SB Steever), pp. 1–39: 1). Neither the geographical origin of the Dravidian language homeland nor its exact dispersal through time are known. The history of these languages is crucial for understanding prehistory in Eurasia, because despite their current restricted range, these languages played a significant role in influencing other language groups including Indo-Aryan (Indo-European) and Munda (Austroasiatic) speakers. Here, we report the results of a Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of cognate-coded lexical data, elicited first hand from native speakers, to investigate the subgrouping of the Dravidian language family, and provide dates for the major points of diversification. Our results indicate that the Dravidian language family is approximately 4500 years old, a finding that corresponds well with earlier linguistic and archaeological studies. The main branches of the Dravidian language family (North, Central, South I, South II) are recovered, although the placement of languages within these main branches diverges from previous classifications. We find considerable uncertainty with regard to the relationships between the main branches.

scholarly journals Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of linguistic data using BEAST

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantin Hoffmann ◽  
Remco Bouckaert ◽  
Simon J Greenhill ◽  
Denise Kühnert
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
Language Evolution ◽  
Software Tool ◽  
Theoretical Background ◽  
Linguistic Data ◽  
Bayesian Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
Phylogenetic Methods ◽  
History Of ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Clock Models

Abstract Bayesian phylogenetic methods provide a set of tools to efficiently evaluate large linguistic datasets by reconstructing phylogenies—family trees—that represent the history of language families. These methods provide a powerful way to test hypotheses about prehistory, regarding the subgrouping, origins, expansion, and timing of the languages and their speakers. Through phylogenetics, we gain insights into the process of language evolution in general and into how fast individual features change in particular. This article introduces Bayesian phylogenetics as applied to languages. We describe substitution models for cognate evolution, molecular clock models for the evolutionary rate along the branches of a tree, and tree generating processes suitable for linguistic data. We explain how to find the best-suited model using path sampling or nested sampling. The theoretical background of these models is supplemented by a practical tutorial describing how to set up a Bayesian phylogenetic analysis using the software tool BEAST2.

“The Fumes of Polonism and the Stench of Herzenism”: “Vestnik Zapadnoy Rossii” Against Class Revolution and Clas Reaction

2020 ◽  
Vol 58 ◽  
pp. 118-134
Author(s):  
Aleksandr E. Kotov
Keyword(s):  
Short History ◽  
South West ◽  
The People ◽  
History Of ◽  
Stereotypical Image

The journal of Ksenofont A. Govorsky “Vestnik Yugo-Zapadnoy I Zapadnoy Rossii” (“South-West and West Russia Herald”) is known in the history of pubic thought as odious and reactionary. However, this stereotypical image needs some revision: the anti-Polish discourse on the pages of the magazine was not so much nationalistic as anti-aristocratic in nature. Considering the “Poles” primarily as carriers of the aristocratic principles, the editorial board of the magazine claimed to protect the broad masses of the people. Throughout its short history, the magazine consistently opposed both revolutionary and aristocratic propaganda. However, the regional limitations of the problems covered in the magazine did not give it the opportunity to reflect on the essential closeness of the revolutionary and reactionary principles. Yu.F. Samarin and I.S. Aksakov – whose conservative-democratic views, on the whole, were close to “Western Russianism”, promoted by the authors of “Vestnik Yugo-Zapadnoy I Zapadnoy Rossii”, managed to reach that goal.

LEADERS AND TIMES OF CRISIS: JEREMIAH 5:1–6 A CASE IN POINT

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 657-677 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wilhelm J. Wessels
Keyword(s):  
Ordinary People ◽  
Covenant Theology ◽  
The People ◽  
History Of ◽  
Book Of Jeremiah ◽  
Definitive Role ◽  
Ethical Obligations ◽  
Moral Demands ◽  
The Way ◽  
Crisis Situations

The book of Jeremiah reflects a particular period in the history of Judah, certain theological perspectives and a particular portrayal of the prophet Jeremiah. Covenant theology played a major role in Jeremiah’s view of life and determined his expectations of leaders and ordinary people. He placed high value on justice and trustworthiness, and people who did not adhere to this would in his view bear the consequences of disobedience to Yahweh’s moral demands and unfaithfulness. The prophet expected those in positions of leadership to adhere to certain ethical obligations as is clear from most of the nouns which appear in Jeremiah 5:1–6. This article argues that crisis situations in history affect leaders’ communication, attitudes and responses. Leaders’ worldviews and ideologies play a definitive role in their responses to crises. Jeremiah’s religious views are reflected in his criticism and demands of people in his society. This is also true as seen from the way the people and leaders in Judah responded to the prophet’s proclamation. Jeremiah 5:1–6 emphasises that knowledge and accountability are expected of leaders at all times, but in particular during unstable political times.

ABCs of the Revolution

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 278-291
Author(s):  
Egor A. Yesyunin
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Second World War ◽  
World War ◽  
Special Significance ◽  
Development History ◽  
The People ◽  
Red Army ◽  
History Of ◽  
Second World ◽  
The Revolution

The article is devoted to the satirical agitation ABCs that appeared during the Civil War, which have never previously been identified by researchers as a separate type of agitation art. The ABCs, which used to have the narrow purpose of teaching children to read and write before, became a form of agitation art in the hands of artists and writers. This was facilitated by the fact that ABCs, in contrast to primers, are less loaded with educational material and, accordingly, they have more space for illustrations. The article presents the development history of the agitation ABCs, focusing in detail on four of them: V.V. Mayakovsky’s “Soviet ABC”, D.S. Moor’s “Red Army Soldier’s ABC”, A.I. Strakhov’s “ABC of the Revolution”, and M.M. Cheremnykh’s “Anti-Religious ABC”. There is also briefly considered “Our ABC”: the “TASS Posters” created by various artists during the Second World War. The article highlights the special significance of V.V. Mayakovsky’s first agitation ABC, which later became a reference point for many artists. The authors of the first satirical ABCs of the Civil War period consciously used the traditional form of popular prints, as well as ditties and sayings, in order to create images close to the people. The article focuses on the iconographic connections between the ABCs and posters in the works of D.S. Moor and M.M. Cheremnykh, who transferred their solutions from the posters to the ABCs.

The History Of Modern Vaccination In Cooch Behar State In The Nineteenth Century

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 180-190
Author(s):  
Rajkumar Bind
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Vaccination Programme ◽  
West Bengal ◽  
The State ◽  
The People ◽  
Small Pox ◽  
Preventive Method ◽  
History Of

This paper examines the development of modern vaccination programme of Cooch Behar state, a district of West Bengal of India during the nineteenth century. The study has critically analysed the modern vaccination system, which was the only preventive method against various diseases like small pox, cholera but due to neglect, superstation and religious obstacles the people of Cooch Behar state were not interested about modern vaccination. It also examines the sex wise and castes wise vaccinators of the state during the study period. The study will help us to growing conciseness about modern vaccination among the peoples of Cooch Behar district.   

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