scholarly journals Phylogeny in Phonology: How Tai Sound Systems Encode Their Past

Author(s):  
Rikker Dockum

The study of sound change is foundational to traditional historical linguistics, particularly the linguistic comparative method. It is well established that the phonology of modern languages encodes useful data for studying the history of those languages, and their genetic relationships to one another. However, phonology has typically been the means to the end, enabling the comparative method, and coding of a comparative lexicon for cognacy. Once coded, the particular sounds involved no longer factor into the analysis. This study examines whether the phoneme inventories and phonotactic profiles of a set of languages themselves contain phylogenetic signal detectable using established statistical tests D statistic (Fritz & Purvis 2010), K (Blomberg et al 2003), and NeighborNet delta score (Holland et al 2002) and Q-residual (Gray et al 2010). This study adds to the growing body of work on the use of phonological traits in computational phylogenetics for linguistics. Using data from 20 Tai lects from the Kra-Dai language family, this study confirms and extends previous findings. This includes detection of strong phylogenetic signal in phoneme frequency and biphone transition probabilities, but also relatively strong phylogenetic signal detected in even coarse-grained phoneme and biphone presence/absence, which previous work was unable to do.

1977 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 461-507 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gideon Goldenbekg

The accumulation of knowledge concerning the Semitic languages of Ethiopia has reached a stage when one may wish to venture upon a systematic comparative investigation of this linguistic group. Such an attempt is E. Hetzron'sEthiopian Semitic: studies in classification, which represents, in terms of genetic classification, the most detailed and penetrating comparative study hitherto undertaken in this field. The book is somewhat more ambitious than its subtitle would suggest; in fact it offers a fairly comprehensive exposition, well reasoned and carefully elaborated, of a new classification of the Ethiopian Semitic languages. And, as already argued a century ago, ‘in the field of cognate languages, classification is but a “modification” of the history of a language’, since ‘eo ipsothe history of language turns into a genetic classification’, or, as postulated in a more recent study, ‘the establishment of valid hypotheses concerning genetic relationships among languages is a necessary preliminary to the systematic reconstruction of their historical development’. The Ethiopian language area is sometimes mentioned as especially convenient for the comparativist. Indeed, ‘the field is inexhaustible and exceptionally fascinating’, as it comprises a rich variety of languages, dialects and ‘sub-dialects’’, Semitic and non-Semitic, spoken side by side in adjacent regions and at various substrata. However, such a linguistic situation is not necessarily favourable for applying the genealogical-comparative method, especially as regards interrelations between close, and rather fragmented, dialects.


2018 ◽  
pp. 1274-1279
Author(s):  
Elena V. Olimpieva ◽  

The article reviews O. A. Shashkova’s ‘... Call the Mute Artifacts to Speech.’ Essays on the History of Archaeography of the 15th - Early 20th Century. Wide array of sources and broad geographical frameworks allow Shashkova to present emergence and development of Russian and European archaeography from the 15th to early 20th century intelligibly enough for educational purposes. A whole chapter is devoted to the manuscript tradition and publishing of sources before Gutenberg. When considering the formation of archaeographical tradition, the author uses comparative method. O. A. Shashkova offers a historical overview and analyzes theoretical and practical issues of archaeography. The reviewer notes the significance of the chosen topic due to a need to reconsider the development of publishing in light of modern views on archaeography and to make it accessible to students and non-professionals. She notes traditional academic approach of O. A. Shashkova to presentation of the development publication practices. The review considers the possibility of using the ‘Essays...’ in studying the history of archaeography and offers possible directions for a broader consideration of historical experience, in particular, of Novikov’s publication projects. The review notes the controversial nature of the author’s approach to systematization of her large historical material in order to consider issues concerning the study of archaeographical practices. It stresses that coverage of issues of development of methods of preparation of publications separately from its historical and practical aspects hinders successful mastering of the material by an untrained reader. It concludes that the publication has high practical value for specialists in archaeography and students.


Author(s):  
Laura Quick

This chapter argue that ritual behaviours might be just as good a source as literary texts for the diffusion of traditional cursing and treaty material across different cultures in the ancient Near East. In particular, the role of ad hoc oral Targum in the ritual process could have been an important means by which traditions were shared between different language communities. Recognition of the ritual context of this material also provides insights for the comparative method, the dating and authorship of Deuteronomy 28, and the subversive impetus thought to have stood behind its composition. Ultimately, the function of the written word in a largely oral world is shown to be fundamental to understanding the composition, function and the early history of the curses in the book of Deuteronomy.


ZDM ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan Prytz

AbstractThis paper concerns the relationship between research and governance policy in three Swedish major development projects in mathematics education: the New Math project (1960–1975), the PUMP project (1970–1980), and the Boost for Mathematics project in (2012–2016). All three projects were driven or financed by the Swedish central school authorities. Using a historical comparative method, this study deepens the understanding of how research co-exists with governance policy when preparing innovations in mathematics education. The main historical sources are official reports and governmental decisions concerning the three projects. The analysis is focused on the nature of the innovations of each project and the role of researchers in the process of creating the innovations. The analysis highlights the theories and the methods involved in those processes. The three projects are also positioned in a context of school governance policy. In Sweden, the prevailing school governing policy changed from a highly centralised governance in the 1960s to a highly decentralised governance in the 2010s. The paper concludes by discussing to what degree the researchers adhered to principles of research or school governance; in particular, the Boost for Mathematics project is considered in this regard. The relevance of the paper in relation to the emerging field of implementation research in mathematics education concerns how historical studies can give new insights about contemporary development projects in mathematics education.


2017 ◽  
Vol 89 (5) ◽  
pp. 456-460 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Ayton ◽  
Ibrahima Diouf ◽  
Ashley Ian Bush

ObjectiveTo investigate whether cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) ferritin (reporting brain iron) is associated with longitudinal changes in CSF β-amyloid (Aβ) and tau.MethodsMixed-effects models of CSF Aβ1-42 and tau were constructed using data from 296 participants who had baseline measurement of CSF ferritin and annual measurement of CSF tau and Aβ1-42 for up to 5 years.ResultsIn subjects with biomarker-confirmed Alzheimer’s pathology, high CSF ferritin (>6.2 ng/mL) was associated with accelerated depreciation of CSF Aβ1-42 (reporting increased plaque formation; p=0.0001). CSF ferritin was neither associated with changes in CSF tau in the same subjects, nor longitudinal changes in CSF tau or Aβ1-42 in subjects with low baseline pathology. In simulation modelling of the natural history of Aβ deposition, which we estimated to occur over 31.4 years, we predicted that it would take 12.6 years to reach the pathology threshold value of CSF Aβ from healthy normal levels, and this interval is not affected by CSF ferritin. CSF ferritin influences the fall in CSF Aβ over the next phase, where high CSF ferritin accelerated the transition from threshold preclinical Aβ levels to the average level of Alzheimer’s subjects from 18.8 to 10.8 years.ConclusionsIron might facilitate Aβ deposition in Alzheimer’s and accelerate the disease process.


2011 ◽  
Vol 279 (1728) ◽  
pp. 610-618 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin M. Winger ◽  
Irby J. Lovette ◽  
David W. Winkler

Seasonal migration in birds is known to be highly labile and subject to rapid change in response to selection, such that researchers have hypothesized that phylogenetic relationships should neither predict nor constrain the migratory behaviour of a species. Many theories on the evolution of bird migration assume a framework that extant migratory species have evolved repeatedly and relatively recently from sedentary tropical or subtropical ancestors. We performed ancestral state reconstructions of migratory behaviour using a comprehensive, well-supported phylogeny of the Parulidae (the ‘wood-warblers’), a large family of Neotropical and Nearctic migratory and sedentary songbirds, and examined the rates of gain and loss of migration throughout the Parulidae. Counter to traditional hypotheses, our results suggest that the ancestral wood-warbler was migratory and that losses of migration have been at least as prevalent as gains throughout the history of Parulidae. Therefore, extant sedentary tropical radiations in the Parulidae represent losses of latitudinal migration and colonization of the tropics from temperate regions. We also tested for phylogenetic signal in migratory behaviour, and our results indicate that although migratory behaviour is variable within some wood-warbler species and clades, phylogeny significantly predicts the migratory distance of species in the Parulidae.


Author(s):  
K.A. Ushmaeva ◽  
◽  
A.S. Goncharov

This study is devoted to the study of relevant works on the history of the Stavropol Cossacks, works in the field of education of the Stavropol Cossacks as an independent Cossack group, trade, cultural and economic ties in the Stavropol Territory, spiritual life, language, culture, traditions and customs of the Stavropol Cossacks. Among modern studies in the history of the Stavropol Cossacks, the following topics stand out: military life and everyday life, folklore and song traditions, the movement for the revival of the Cossacks, as well as the current state and prospects for the development of Cossack organizations. The prospect of the development of pedagogical technologies based on the Cossack traditions of educating young people in Stavropol is highlighted as a separate topical topic. The relevance of the study lies in the need for a private study of the historiography of the regional Cossack group of Stavropol Cossacks in order to expand the scientific and pedagogical tools in the field of «Cossack studies». The practical significance of the study is expressed in the possibility of using the data of the article in the search for supporting material for teaching the "History of the Cossacks" in a higher educational institution (taking into account the regional specifics). The scientific novelty of the research is expressed in a new view of the Stavropol Cossacks as an independent Cossack group formed at the end of the XVIII century. The source base is represented mainly by archival data from the State Archives of the Stavropol Territory, data banks on archaeological, cultural and linguistic expeditions, sources of personal origin, the works of contemporary historians and directly the works of historians, whose studies formed the basis of the historiography of the history of the Stavropol Cossacks. The research methodology is based on the principles of historiographic comparative studies and comparative analysis of sources. Within the framework of the sociocultural approach, we rely on the following methods. Special-historical: the narrative method, the historical-comparative method, the historical-systemic method, the retrospective method. Sociological: document analysis, method of generalizing characteristics, method of ideal types. Culturological: comparative method, cultural-systemic method. Pedagogical: pedagogical interviewing, a method of studying and generalizing pedagogical experience.


2021 ◽  
pp. SP495-2021-72
Author(s):  
Domenico Chiarella ◽  
Daniel Joel

AbstractDeep-marine gravity-driven deposits represent one of the more investigated depositional systems due to their potential interest as target for exploration and carbon capture and storage activities, as well as an important record of the depositional history of a basin through time. Although the Halten Terrace (Norwegian Sea) is one of the main successful exploration areas, we still have poor understanding of the post-rift Cretaceous interval. Here, 3D seismic reflection and borehole data are integrated to investigate the stratigraphic distribution and sedimentological characteristics of the Cenomanian-Turonian intra Lange Sandstones in the Gimsan Basin and Grinda Graben. The Lange Formation records the deposition in a deep-marine environment of a thousand meter thick shale unit punctuated by tens of meters thick gravity-driven coarse-grained sandstone intervals sourced from the Norwegian mainland. The presence of gravity-driven deposits and the deep-marine setting is supported by seismic interpretation, architectural elements and the facies analysis of cored material acquired within the studied stratigraphic interval. Borehole data indicate the presence of both turbidites and hybrid-event beds rich in mud content. The results of this study have implications for the understanding of the distribution and reservoir potentiality of the Late Cretaceous Lange Formation in the Halten Terrace.


Science ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 373 (6556) ◽  
pp. 792-796 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul K. Strother ◽  
Clinton Foster

Molecular time trees indicating that embryophytes originated around 500 million years ago (Ma) during the Cambrian are at odds with the record of fossil plants, which first appear in the mid-Silurian almost 80 million years later. This time gap has been attributed to a missing fossil plant record, but that attribution belies the case for fossil spores. Here, we describe a Tremadocian (Early Ordovician, about 480 Ma) assemblage with elements of both Cambrian and younger embryophyte spores that provides a new level of evolutionary continuity between embryophytes and their algal ancestors. This finding suggests that the molecular phylogenetic signal retains a latent evolutionary history of the acquisition of the embryophytic developmental genome, a history that perhaps began during Ediacaran-Cambrian time but was not completed until the mid-Silurian (about 430 Ma).


2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Youn-Joo Park

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Foreign correspondence now holds a tenuous position in the journalism industry because in midst of financial struggles, news organizations have been willing to axe the budget for international news. This study explored what the professional networks of foreign correspondents looked like when major U.S. newspapers devoted resources to bureaus abroad. In-depth interviews of fifty-four foreign correspondents from eighteen newspapers informed the history of international reporting from 1960 through 2013. The patterns of relationships were analyzed using the constant comparative method and the components identified in social network theory. The analysis on foreign correspondents' relationships with sources explored how their interactions abroad led to adjustments in journalistic practices and values and how their intrinsic personal identities influenced those relationships. Furthermore, this socio-historical study examined what influenced the foreign correspondents' working arrangements, including theoretical insights into the remote professional interactions with the home office, the typologies of working arrangements with helpers, the insider-outsider relationships with local journalists, and elite professional expat community of foreign correspondents. The research concludes by tying this information to the future of foreign correspondence.


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