Genetics and the origin of European languages.

Piazza, Alberto; Rendine, S.; Minch, Eric; Menozzi, Paolo; Mountain, Joanna L.; Cavalli-Sforza, L L

doi:10.1073/pnas.92.13.5836

Cited by 72 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…The results have been less clear-cut in a few other species, with genetic discontinuities apparent at some but not all dialect boundaries (Kroodsma et al 1985;Balaban 1988). In contrast, studies in humans have repeatedly found a strong correspondence between geographical variation in neutral genes and languages Sokal et al 1990;Chen et al 1995;Piazza et al 1995;Cavalli-Sforza 1997) Figure 2. Two phylogenies of mitochondrial control region sequences; both show that variation between matrilines is not structured by dialect.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…For traditional human societies there is mounting evidence that language variation is often highly correlated with variation in neutral genes, suggesting that transmission of language has been primarily vertical (i.e. from parents to o¡spring) Piazza et al 1995;Cavalli-Sforza 1997) although some exceptions have been noted (Ward et al 1993;Chu et al 1998;Monsalve et al 1999). Conversely, studies of male song in oscine songbirds have generally not found a strong association between vocal and genetic variation (Kroodsma et al 1985;Fleischer & Rothstein 1988;Payne & Westneat 1988;Lougheed & Handford 1992;Catchpole & Slater 1995) suggesting that horizontal or oblique transmission (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies of the inheritance of learned communication signals have ¢gured prominently in the e¡ort to understand this relationship (Cavalli-Sforza & Feldman 1981;Boyd & Richerson 1985;Kroodsma et al 1985;Sokal et al 1990;Catchpole & Slater 1995;Piazza et al 1995;CavalliSforza 1997;Wilson 1998). These studies have been largely restricted to either humans or songbirds.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Population genetic structure and vocal dialects in an amazon parrot

Wright

Wilkinson

2001

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

130

101

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The relationship between cultural and genetic evolution was examined in the yellow-naped amazon Amazona auropalliata. This species has previously been shown to have regional dialects de¢ned by large shifts in the acoustic structure of its learned contact call. Mitochondrial DNA sequence variation from a 680 base pair segment of the ¢rst domain of the control region was assayed in 41 samples collected from two neighbouring dialects in Costa Rica. The relationship of genetic variation to vocal variation was examined using haplotype analysis, genetic distance analysis, a maximum-likelihood estimator of migration rates and phylogenetic reconstructions. All analyses indicated a high degree of gene £ow and, thus, individual dispersal across dialect boundaries. Calls sampled from sound libraries suggested that temporally stable contact call dialects occur throughout the range of the yellow-naped amazon, while the presence of similar dialects in the sister species Amazona ochrocephala suggests that the propensity to form dialects is ancestral in this clade. These results indicate that genes and culture are not closely associated in the yellow-naped amazon. Rather, they suggest that regional diversity in vocalizations is maintained by selective pressures that promote social learning and allow individual repertoires to conform to local call types.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Population genetic structure and vocal dialects in an amazon parrot

Wright

Wilkinson

2001

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

130

101

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“…The work of Cavalli-Sforza and his collaborators opened up a new aspect in the genetic analysis of populations (Cavalli-Sforza et al 1989;Piazza et al 1995;Cavalli-Sforza, 1997). The general result from their work was that populations are likely to be genetically distinct, on the basis of several markers, when they speak different languages.…”

Section: Genetics and Languagementioning

confidence: 99%

Isolation by Language and Distance in Belgium

Barrai¹,

Rodríguez-Larralde²,

Manni³

et al. 2004

Annals of Human Genetics

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SummaryThe isonymy structure of trilingual Belgium was studied using the surname distributions for 1,118,004 private telephone users. The users were distributed in 77 Flemish, 76 French, and 3 German speaking towns, selected on a geographic basis to form an approximately regular grid over Belgium. Lasker's distance was found to be considerably higher between languages than within languages. For the whole of Belgium, irrespective of language, it was highly correlated with linear geographic distance, with r = 0.721± 0.014, which is the highest correlation observed in European countries to date. Within Belgium and within languages, the correlation was highest among the Flemish (r = 0.878 ± 0.007), and lowest among the French (r = 0.631± 0.020). Isolation by distance in Belgium is the highest we have found in Europe, and as high as in Switzerland where the different languages are separated by geographical barriers. This is not the case in Belgium, so that the considerable isolating power of languages emerges clearly from the present analysis. From the comparison of Lasker's distance between (9.48) and within (8.16) languages, and from its regression over geographic distance (b = 0.01206), it was possible to establish a quantitative relationship between the isolating power of languages and that of geographic distance as (9.48-8.16)/0.01206 = 109 kilometres. This transformation of language distance into an equivalent geographic distance, given here for Belgium, can be applied to any similar geo-linguistic situation.

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“…Demic flow (5,6) raises the possibility that cultural, genetic (7,8), and linguistic traits (6,9) with no intrinsic advantage may ''hitchhike,'' i.e., spread with the advancing farmers. The IndoEuropean languages and the genetic distribution of European people (10) have been advanced as prime examples.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultural hitchhiking on the wave of advance of beneficial technologies

Ackland

Signitzer

Stratford

et al. 2007

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

100

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The wave-of-advance model was introduced to describe the spread of advantageous genes in a population. It can be adapted to model the uptake of any advantageous technology through a population, such as the arrival of neolithic farmers in Europe, the domestication of the horse, and the development of the wheel, iron tools, political organization, or advanced weaponry. Any trait that preexists alongside the advantageous one could be carried along with it, such as genetics or language, regardless of any intrinsic superiority. Decoupling of the advantageous trait from other ''hitchhiking'' traits depends on its adoption by the preexisting population. Here, we adopt a similar wave-of-advance model based on food production on a heterogeneous landscape with multiple populations. Two key results arise from geographic inhomogeneity: the ''subsistence boundary,'' land so poor that the wave of advance is halted, and the temporary ''diffusion boundary'' where the wave cannot move into poorer areas until its gradient becomes sufficiently large. At diffusion boundaries, farming technology may pass to indigenous people already in those poorer lands, allowing their population to grow and resist encroachment by farmers. Ultimately, this adoption of technology leads to the halt in spread of the hitchhiking trait and establishment of a permanent ''cultural boundary'' between distinct cultures with equivalent technology.farming ͉ neolithic ͉ population I n a seminal work, Ammerman and Cavalli-Sforza (1) analyzed the spread of farming technology through Europe in terms of a diffusive flow or displacement of population that they termed a demic flow. Earlier work (2) had considered ''cultural'' diffusion where technology was passed without significant movement of population. A quantitative model (3) of this ''wave-ofadvance'' theory made use of the Fisher equation (4) with a wave speed of Ϸ1 km per year.Demic flow (5, 6) raises the possibility that cultural, genetic (7,8), and linguistic traits (6, 9) with no intrinsic advantage may ''hitchhike,'' i.e., spread with the advancing farmers. The IndoEuropean languages and the genetic distribution of European people (10) have been advanced as prime examples. Other processes, such as contact-induced language evolution (6) and other advancing technologies, such as horse husbandry, the wheel, and iron, are also claimed to be examples. A quantitative model of cultural hitchhiking is therefore of interest for determining how much common understanding of the general phenomenon can be gained by such a simple mechanism.Hitchhiking is well studied in the genetic literature (11, 12), and loss of genetic diversity through culture is known in whales (13); however, little has been done with continuous geography. Here, we incorporate inhomogeneous geography and the competing mechanisms of demic and cultural diffusion into a model (14) that can give either wave of advance or diffusion and growth scenarios.Although a deterministic model ignores crucial rare events, it should be regarded as a historical nu...

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Genetics and the origin of European languages.

Abstract: A new set of European genetic data has been analyzed to dissect independent patterns of geographic vari

Cited by 72 publications

References 23 publications

Population genetic structure and vocal dialects in an amazon parrot

Population genetic structure and vocal dialects in an amazon parrot

Isolation by Language and Distance in Belgium

Cultural hitchhiking on the wave of advance of beneficial technologies

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