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Language steamrollers?

Author

Listed:
  • John Edward Terrell

    (New Guinea Research Program, The Field Museum)

  • John Hines

    (School of History and Archaeology, University of Wales)

  • Terry L. Hunt

    (University of Hawaii at Manoa)

  • Chapurukha Kusimba

    (The Field Museum)

  • Carl Lipo

    (University of Washington)

Abstract

Jared Diamond's tabulation1 of the number and degree of dissimilarity between the world's extant languages shows how unevenly this kind of human variation is distributed geographically. This is perhaps the greatest mystery of historical linguistics. If early Holocene linguistic upheavals are crucial for understanding human population genetics, it is no less crucial that we should be fully aware of the uncertain nature of the prehistoric facts that linguistic data can be used to reconstruct.

Suggested Citation

  • John Edward Terrell & John Hines & Terry L. Hunt & Chapurukha Kusimba & Carl Lipo, 1998. "Language steamrollers?," Nature, Nature, vol. 391(6667), pages 547-547, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:391:y:1998:i:6667:d:10.1038_35294
    DOI: 10.1038/35294
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