Evolution Of Human Languages
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The Evolution of Human Languages (EHL) project is a historical-comparative linguistics research project hosted by the
Santa Fe Institute The Santa Fe Institute (SFI) is an independent, nonprofit theoretical research institute located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States and dedicated to the multidisciplinary study of the fundamental principles of complex adaptive systems, inc ...
. It aims to provide a detailed genealogical classification of the world's languages. The project was founded in 2001 by Nobel laureate
Murray Gell-Mann Murray Gell-Mann (; September 15, 1929 – May 24, 2019) was an American theoretical physicist who played a preeminent role in the development of the theory of elementary particles. Gell-Mann introduced the concept of quarks as the funda ...
when he partnered with
Sergei Starostin Sergei Anatolyevich Starostin (; March 24, 1953 – September 30, 2005) was a Russian historical linguistics, historical linguist and philology, philologist, perhaps best known for his reconstructions of hypothetical proto-languages, including hi ...
and Merritt Ruhlen to map out the evolutionary tree of human languages. Initial funding was provided by the
Santa Fe Institute The Santa Fe Institute (SFI) is an independent, nonprofit theoretical research institute located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States and dedicated to the multidisciplinary study of the fundamental principles of complex adaptive systems, inc ...
and the
MacArthur Foundation The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private foundation that makes grants and impact investments to support non-profit organizations in approximately 117 countries around the world. It has an endowment of $7.6 billion and ...
. It is currently led by Russian linguist
Georgiy Starostin Georgiy Sergeevich "George" Starostin (; born 4 July 1976) is a Russian linguist. He is the son of the late historical linguist Sergei Starostin (1953–2005), and his work largely continues his father's. He is also known as a self-published mu ...
, the son of
Sergei Starostin Sergei Anatolyevich Starostin (; March 24, 1953 – September 30, 2005) was a Russian historical linguistics, historical linguist and philology, philologist, perhaps best known for his reconstructions of hypothetical proto-languages, including hi ...
. Many of the project's members belong to the
Moscow School of Comparative Linguistics The Moscow School of Comparative Linguistics (also called the Nostratic languages, Nostratic School) is a school of linguistics based in Moscow, Russia that is known for its work in . Formerly based at Moscow State University, it is currently cente ...
, including
Georgiy Starostin Georgiy Sergeevich "George" Starostin (; born 4 July 1976) is a Russian linguist. He is the son of the late historical linguist Sergei Starostin (1953–2005), and his work largely continues his father's. He is also known as a self-published mu ...
and Ilia Peiros. Other project members include Vaclav Blazek, John D. Bengtson,
Edward Vajda Edward J. Vajda (Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, September 10, 1958 as Edward M. Johnson; changed his name in 1981) is a historical linguist at Western Washington University, Washington. He is known for his work on the proposed Dené–Yeniseia ...
, and other linguists.


Overview

The Evolution of Human Languages (EHL) is an international project – of which
Georgiy Starostin Georgiy Sergeevich "George" Starostin (; born 4 July 1976) is a Russian linguist. He is the son of the late historical linguist Sergei Starostin (1953–2005), and his work largely continues his father's. He is also known as a self-published mu ...
inherited his father's membership – on "the linguistic prehistory of humanity" coordinated by the
Santa Fe Institute The Santa Fe Institute (SFI) is an independent, nonprofit theoretical research institute located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States and dedicated to the multidisciplinary study of the fundamental principles of complex adaptive systems, inc ...
. The project distinguishes about 6,000 languages currently spoken around the world, and aims to provide a detailed classification similar to the accepted
classification Classification is the activity of assigning objects to some pre-existing classes or categories. This is distinct from the task of establishing the classes themselves (for example through cluster analysis). Examples include diagnostic tests, identif ...
of biological species. Their idea is that "all representatives of the species ''
Homo sapiens Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...
'' presumably share a common origin, oit would be natural to suppose – although this is a goal yet to be achieved – that all human languages also go back to some common source. Most existing classifications, however, do not go beyond some 300-400 language families that are relatively easy to discern. This restriction has natural reasons: languages must have been spoken and constantly evolving for at least 40,000 years (and quite probably more), while any two languages separated from a common source inevitably lose almost all superficially common features after some 6,000-7,000 years". The is an international etymological database project that is part of the Evolution of Human Languages project. It is coordinated by the of the Russian State University for the Humanities.


Global Lexicostatistical Database

In 2011, the (GLD) was launched as part of the EHL project. The database uses the Unified Transcription System (UTS), designed specifically for the database.


110-word list

The Global Lexicostatistical Database includes basic word lists of 110 items each for many of the world's languages. The 110-word list is a modified 100-item
Swadesh list A Swadesh list () is a compilation of cultural universal, tentatively universal concepts for the purposes of lexicostatistics. That is, a Swadesh list is a list of forms and concepts which all languages, without exception, have terms for, such as ...
consisting of the original 100 Swadesh list items, in addition to the following 10 additional words from the Swadesh–Yakhontov list: #far #heavy #near #salt #short #snake #thin #wind #worm #year The 110-word expanded
Swadesh list A Swadesh list () is a compilation of cultural universal, tentatively universal concepts for the purposes of lexicostatistics. That is, a Swadesh list is a list of forms and concepts which all languages, without exception, have terms for, such as ...
by Kassian et al. (2010) is as follows. :


50-word list

A 50-word list of "ultra-stable" items for lexicostatiscal use with the database was also proposed in 2010. The 50-word list is an abridged version of the 110-word list.Starostin, George
Preliminary lexicostatistics as a basis for language classification: A new approach
''
Journal of Language Relationship The ''Journal of Language Relationship'' (abbreviated ''JLR''; Russian: Вопросы языкового родства) is a quarterly academic journal published in Russia and the United States. It focuses on historical linguistics, with many ar ...
'', No. 3 (2010). P. 79–116.
:


See also

*
Moscow School of Comparative Linguistics The Moscow School of Comparative Linguistics (also called the Nostratic languages, Nostratic School) is a school of linguistics based in Moscow, Russia that is known for its work in . Formerly based at Moscow State University, it is currently cente ...
* Cross-Linguistic Linked Data *
Genographic Project The Genographic Project, launched on 13 April 2005 by the National Geographic Society and IBM, was a Molecular anthropology, genetic anthropological study (sales discontinued on 31 May 2019) that aimed to map historical human migrations patter ...


References


External links


The Tower of Babel: Evolution of Human Language Project
by Georgiy Starostin
The Global Lexicostatistical Database


Videos
Murray Gell-Mann and the Evolution of Human Languages
(Santa Fe Institute video)
Murray Gell-Mann: Do all languages have a common ancestor?
(TED talk in 2008) {{Long-range comparative linguistics Long-range comparative linguistics Moscow School of Comparative Linguistics Linguistic research Lexical databases Word lists