25 research outputs found
Temporal Phylogenetic Networks and Logic Programming
The concept of a temporal phylogenetic network is a mathematical model of
evolution of a family of natural languages. It takes into account the fact that
languages can trade their characteristics with each other when linguistic
communities are in contact, and also that a contact is only possible when the
languages are spoken at the same time. We show how computational methods of
answer set programming and constraint logic programming can be used to generate
plausible conjectures about contacts between prehistoric linguistic
communities, and illustrate our approach by applying it to the evolutionary
history of Indo-European languages.
To appear in Theory and Practice of Logic Programming (TPLP)
Some Consequences of a New Proposal for Subgrouping the IE Family
Proceedings of the Twenty-Fourth Annual Meeting of the Berkeley
Linguistics Society: Special Session on Indo-European Subgrouping and
Internal Relations (1998
Perfect phylogenetic networks: A new methodology for reconstructing the evolutionary history of natural languages
In this paper we extend the Ringe-Warnow model of language evolution to include the case where languages remain in contact, trading linguistic material, as they evolve. We describe our analysis of an Indo-European dataset (originally assembled by Ringe and Taylor) based on this new model. Our study shows that this new model fits the IE family well and suggests that the early evolution of IE involved only limited contact between distinct lineages. Furthermore, the candidate histories we obtain appear to be consistent with archaeological findings, which suggests that this method may be of practical use.
Temporal Phylogenetic Networks and Logic Programming
The concept of a temporal phylogenetic network is a mathematical model of evolution of a family of natural languages. It takes into account the fact that languages can trade their characteristics with each other when linguistic communities are in contact, and also that a contact is only possible when the languages are spoken at the same time. We show how computational methods of answer set programming and constraint logic programming can be used to generate plausible conjectures about contacts between prehistoric linguistic communities, and illustrate our approach by applying it to the evolutionary history of Indo-European languages.
Inference of divergence times as a statistical inverse problem
A familiar complaint about statisticians and applied mathematicians is that they are the possessors of a relatively small number of rather elegant hammers with which they roam the world seeking convenient nails to pound, or at least screws they can pretend are nails. One all too often hear