Our results single out low genetic diversity as the strongest and most consistent global predictor of high linguistic diversity across a series of possible confounds including population density and deep population history. (4/5)
This inverse relationship arises from the parallel impact of contact and isolation on genomes and languages: contact between populations increases genetic diversity and reduces linguistic diversity, while isolation reduces genetic diversity but promotes linguistic diversification. (3/5)
This highlights that hotspots of linguistic diversity give us a glimpse of what languages can do when evolving in conditions of relative isolation and reasserts the importance of population history in shaping landscapes of linguistic diversity. (5/5)
We show that global structural linguistic and human genetic diversity are inversely correlated. In other words: Genetically more diverse groups speak less structurally diverse languages and vice versa! (2/5)
Check out our new paper! (1/5)
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
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š¬ Languages are diverse: thousands are spoken worldwide, and they differ widely in the structures they use. š§¬ Human DNA variation preserves the history of populations and individuals. š¤ Are these two dimensions of human diversity related?
š evolvinglanguage.ch/isolated-hum...
Languages are diverse: thousands are spoken worldwide, and they differ widely in the structures they use. Human DNA variation preserves the history of populations and individuals. Are these two dimens...
