Phonemic Diversity Supports a Serial Founder Effect Model of Language Expansion from Africa
Abstract
Human genetic and phenotypic diversity declines with distance from Africa, as predicted by a serial founder effect in which successive population bottlenecks during range expansion progressively reduce diversity, underpinning support for an African origin of modern humans. Recent work suggests that a similar founder effect may operate on human culture and language. Here I show that the number of phonemes used in a global sample of 504 languages is also clinal and fits a serial founder-effect model of expansion from an inferred origin in Africa. This result, which is not explained by more recent demographic history, local language diversity, or statistical non-independence within language families, points to parallel mechanisms shaping genetic and linguistic diversity and supports an African origin of modern human languages.
- Publication:
-
Science
- Pub Date:
- April 2011
- DOI:
- 10.1126/science.1199295
- Bibcode:
- 2011Sci...332..346A
- Keywords:
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- EVOLUTION