Historical linguistics as a sequence optimization problem: the evolution and biogeography ofUto‐Aztecan languages

• DOI: 10.1111/cla.12078
• Publication Date: 2014-05-13T10:10:54Z
• Authors: Ward C. Wheeler; Peter M. Whiteley
• Keywords: 0602 languages and literature; 06 humanities and the arts

AbstractLanguage origins and diversification are vital for mapping human history. Traditionally, the reconstruction of language trees has been based on cognate forms among related languages, with ancestral protolanguages inferred by individual investigators. Disagreement among competing authorities is typically extensive, without empirical grounds for resolving alternative hypotheses. Here, we apply analytical methods derived fromDNAsequence optimization algorithms toUto‐Aztecan languages, treating words as sequences of sounds. Our analysis yields novel relationships and suggests a resolution to current conflicts about theProto‐Uto‐Aztecan homeland. The techniques used forUto‐Aztecan are applicable to written and unwritten languages, and should enable more empirically robust hypotheses of language relationships, language histories, and linguistic evolution.