Linguistics: Evolution and Language Change

SummaryLinguists have long identified sound changes that occur in parallel. Now novel research shows how Bayesian modeling can capture complex concerted changes, revealing how evolution of sounds proceeds

‘Lone Wolves’ and Collaboration: A Reply to Crippen & Robinson (2013)

In this reply to Crippen & Robinson’s (2013) contribution to Language Documentation & Conservation, we discuss recent perspectives on ‘collaborative’ linguistics and the many roles that linguists play in language communities. We question Crippen & Robinson’s characterization of the state of the field and their conclusions regarding the utility of collaborative fieldwork. We argue that their characterization of collaborative fieldwork is unrealistic and their complaints are based on a caricature of what linguists actually do when they work together with communities. We also question their emphasis on the ‘outsider’ linguist going into a community, given the increasing number of indigenous scholars working on their own languages and partnering with ‘outsider’ academics. We outline ways in which collaborative work does not compromise theoretical scholarship. Both collaborative and so-called ‘lone wolf’ approaches bring advantages and disadvantages to the linguist, but lone wolf linguistics can have considerable disadvantages to communities who are already excluded from research. Documentary linguists, as representatives of their profession, should make use of the most effective techniques they can, given that in many cases, that linguist’s work may well be the only lasting record of the language.National Foreign Language Resource Cente

Automatic categorization of prosodic contours in Bardi

This study presents preliminary results of an automated prosodic clustering analysis of Bardi, a Nyulnyulan language from Northern Australia, using methods from Kaland (2021). Previous work on Bardi prosody identified several functions of boundary tones and two main phrase types, but stressed that findings were preliminary. Here we extend that work and show evidence for several additional phrase types, as well as confirming the overall accuracy of automated clustering. This work adds to the prosodic typology of Australian languages (cf. Fletcher et al. 2002) and provides further evidence for the functions of intonation beyond demarcation in these languages. When coupled with evaluation by a knowledgeable researcher, this automated approach can greatly expedite prosodic analysis on a large scale and expand our typology of prosodic systems

Computational phylogenetics and the internal structure of Pama-Nyungan

We present the first proposal of detailed internal subgrouping and higher-order structure of the Pama-Nyungan family of Australian languages. Previous work has identified more than twentyfive primary subgroups in the family, with little indication of ho

Two Missing Pieces in a Nyulnyulan Jigsaw Puzzle

Nyulnyulan is a fairly closeknit language family of northwestern Australia. It has been suggested that the family may be an old dialect continuum. While most classifications have recognized two branches, the languages in the middle were all but unattested. It has therefore proven difficult to judge whether the two branches are a result of a tree?like split, or a consequence of missing data. I show from previously missing data that Nyulnyulan is not a dialect chain; there is a clear split even when considering data from the middle languages. This is further evidence that Australian languages are not outside the methods of traditional historical linguistics

Gender and Yale: Where Were the Women?

Statistics on history of women scholars in Yale\u27s English Department