New languages evolve in sudden bursts


	New languages evolve in sudden bursts

pokkets

2-1-2008 6:16 AM

906 views

2 Comments |

Add a Comment

2-1-2008 11:57 AM

kmcolo

Much like evolution (i.e. biological evolution) itself.

2-2-2008 10:12 AM

constantskeptic

nice.

Login to Comment. Not a member yet? Sign up

Today's Top Clips

visit the Top Clips page

View the Top Clips from February 1, 2008

Embed This Clip In Your Site...

<div style="margin: 12px 0px; font-family: arial; color: #333333; background: #ffffff; border: solid 4px #e5e5e5; width: 100%; clear: left;"><div class="CM_CTB_Content_Wrap" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;background-color: #ffffff;"><div style="border-bottom: solid 1px #dcdcdc; white-space: nowrap; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: #eeeeee ;background-image: url(http://clipmarks.com/images/source-bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; height: 24px; line-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 4px; color: #666666; font-size: 10px;" ><a href="http://clipmarks.com/clip-to-blog/" title="see clips that are hot right now"><img src="http://content.clipmarks.com/blog_embed/26273029-d0be-43f6-91c1-87c541732600/BAD34C80-D865-44C9-8C6A-C886358BACF4/" alt="" width="19" height="19" border="0" style="vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px 4px; display: inline; border: none; float:none;" /></a>clipped from <a title="http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2008/02/01/2151480.htm?site=science&topic=ancient" href="http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2008/02/01/2151480.htm?site=science&topic=ancient" style="font-size: 11px;">www.abc.net.au</a></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2008/02/01/2151480.htm?site=science&topic=ancient"> Stephen Pincock</blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2008/02/01/2151480.htm?site=science&topic=ancient"><P class="first">New languages often evolve quickly, in a sudden burst of new words coined as groups of people strive to describe the world around them, says an international team of researchers.</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2008/02/01/2151480.htm?site=science&topic=ancient"><div align="center"><img src="http://content6.clipmarks.com/blog_cache/www.abc.net.au/img/7173134B-EBD8-4379-946E-7D394BEFAF14" alt="words" /></div></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2008/02/01/2151480.htm?site=science&topic=ancient">One group's desire to differentiate itself from another may have prompted the suddden development of new languages</blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2008/02/01/2151480.htm?site=science&topic=ancient"><P>Dr Quentin Atkinson from the UK's <A target="_blank" href="http://www.oxford.ac.uk/">University of Oxford</A> and colleagues report their findings today in the journal <A target="_blank" href="http://www.sciencemag.org"><EM>Science</EM></A>.</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2008/02/01/2151480.htm?site=science&topic=ancient"><P>Scientists debate the evolution of language in a way that parallels arguments in biological evolution. </P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2008/02/01/2151480.htm?site=science&topic=ancient"><P>Do most changes come about slowly and gradually or rapidly within relatively short spans of time?</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2008/02/01/2151480.htm?site=science&topic=ancient"><P>In Bantu languages from Africa, for example, more than 30% of vocabulary differences between languages arose at or around the time that they split off from each other, say the researchers.</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2008/02/01/2151480.htm?site=science&topic=ancient"><P>In the languages of Indonesia, Polynesia and Papua New Guinea, the rush of new words accounted for about 10% of differences.</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2008/02/01/2151480.htm?site=science&topic=ancient">"We're probably talking generations,</blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2008/02/01/2151480.htm?site=science&topic=ancient">maybe around 100 years."</blockquote></div><div style="margin: 0px 6px 6px 4px;"><table style="font-size: 11px;border-spacing: 0px;padding: 0px;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tr><td style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;">&nbsp;</td><td align="right" style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;width:107px" width="107"><a href="http://clipmarks.com/share/BAD34C80-D865-44C9-8C6A-C886358BACF4/blog/" title="blog or email this clip"><img src="http://content7.clipmarks.com/images/c2b-foot.png" border="0" alt="blog it" width="107" height="17" style="border-width:0px;padding:0px;margin:0px;" /></a></td></tr></table></div></div>

New from the makers of Clipmarks: Amplify.com - Don't just share the news...Amplify it!

Clipmarks: Home; New Clips; Top Clips; Dashboard

Popular Topics: News; Life; Science; Technology; Entertainment

Get Started: Sign Up; Install Clipping Tool; How Clipping Works; Clip-to-Blog™; ClipSearch

Tools and Resources: FAQ; ClipWeek; Top Clippers; Top Tags; Site Map

About Clipmarks: About Us; Contact; Copyright; Privacy; EULA

Search Options

Today's Top Clips