Using data from over 160 languages, a new study explains where, when and how Indo-European languages spread across Europe and Asia.

Despite numerous studies, many questions still remain as to the origin of Indo-European: where was the original Indo-European language spoken in prehistoric times? How long ago did this language group emerge? How did it spread across Eurasia? New Study Reconciles Two Dominant Hypotheses About Their Origin. There are two main, though apparently contradictory, established hypotheses. On one side we have the Anatolian Hypothesis, which traces the origins of the Indo-European people to Anatolia, in modern day Turkey, during the Neolithic era. On the other side we have the Steppe Hypothesis, which places the origin of Indo-European languages further north, in the Pontic Steppe.

“Language trees with sampled ancestors support a hybrid model for the origin of Indo-European languages”

DOI: 10.1126/science.abg0818

  • AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.worldEnglish
    5·
    1 year ago

    From the linked study:

    Our M2 to M4 analyses all used a binary covarion model, which allows cognates to switch between fast and slow rates at points on the phylogeny, enabling languages to undergo bursts of change.

    I’d be curious to see how those variations in the rate of language change correlate with known historical events (migrations, institutional changes, etc.).