Grambank reveals the importance of genealogical constraints on linguistic diversity and highlights the impact of language loss

Abstract

While global patterns of human genetic diversity are increasingly well characterized, the diversity of human languages remains less systematically described. Here, we outline the Grambank database. With over 400,000 data points and 2400 languages, Grambank is the largest comparative grammatical database available. The comprehensiveness of Grambank allows us to quantify the relative effects of genealogical inheritance and geographic proximity on the structural diversity of the world’s languages, evaluate constraints on linguistic diversity, and identify the world’s most unusual languages. An analysis of the consequences of language loss reveals that the reduction in diversity will be strikingly uneven across the major linguistic regions of the world. Without sustained efforts to document and revitalize endangered languages, our linguistic window into human history, cognition, and culture will be seriously fragmented.

Authors

Hedvig Skirgård, Hannah J. Haynie, Damián E. Blasi, Harald Hammarström, Jeremy Collins, Jay J. Latarche, Jakob Lesage, Tobias Weber, Alena Witzlack-Makarevich, Sam Passmore, Angela M. Chira, Luke Maurits, Russell Dinnage, Michael Dunn, Ger Reesink, Ruth Singer, Claire Bowern, Patience L Epps, Jane Hill, Outi Vesakoski, Martine Robbeets, Noor Karolin Abbas, Daniel Auer, Nancy A. Bakker, Giulia Barbos, Robert D. Borges, Swintha Danielsen, Luise Dorenbusch, Ella Dorn, John Elliott, Giada Falcone, Jana Fischer, Yustinus Ghanggo Ate, Hannah Gibson, Hans-Philipp Göbel, Jemima A. Goodall, Victoria Gruner, Andrew Harvey, Rebekah Hayes, Leonard Heer, Roberto E. Herrera Miranda, Nataliia Hübler, Biu H. Huntington-Rainey, Jessica K. Ivani, Marilen Johns, Erika Just, Eri Kashima, Carolina Kipf, Janina V. Klingenberg, Nikita König, Aikaterina Koti, Richard G. A. Kowalik, Olga Krasnoukhova, Nora L. M. Lindvall, Mandy Lorenzen, Hannah Lutzenberger, Tânia R.A. Martins, Celia Mata German, Suzanne van der Meer, Jaime Montoya Samamé, Michael Müller, Saliha Muradoglu, Kelsey Neely, Johanna Nickel, Miina Norvik, Cheryl Akinyi Oluoch, Jesse Peacock, India O.C. Pearey, Naomi Peck, Stephanie Petit, Sören Pieper, Mariana Poblete, Daniel Prestipino, Linda Raabe, Amna Raja, Janis Reimringer, Sydney C. Rey, Julia Rizaew, Eloisa Ruppert, Kim K. Salmon, Jill Sammet, Rhiannon Schembri, Lars Schlabbach, Frederick W.P. Schmidt, Amalia Skilton, Wikaliler Daniel Smith, Hilário de Sousa, Kristin Sverredal, Daniel Valle, Javier Vera, Judith Voß, Tim Witte, Henry Wu, Stephanie Yam, Jingting Ye 葉婧婷, Maisie Yong, Tessa Yuditha, Roberto Zariquiey, Robert Forkel, Nicholas Evans, Stephen C. Levinson, Martin Haspelmath, Simon J. Greenhill, Quentin D. Atkinson, Russell D. Gray

Citation

Skirgård H ....Greenhill SJ, Atkinson QD, & Gray RD. 2023. Grambank reveals the importance of genealogical constraints on linguistic diversity and highlights the impact of language loss. Science Advances, 9, eadg6175.

Published 19 April 2023

@article{Skirgård2023,
  title = {Grambank reveals the importance of genealogical constraints on linguistic diversity and highlights the impact of language loss},
  author = {Skirgård, Hedvig and Haynie, Hannah J. and Blasi, Damián E. and Hammarström, Harald and Collins, Jeremy and Latarche, Jay J. and Lesage, Jakob and Weber, Tobias and Witzlack-Makarevich, Alena and Passmore, Sam and Chira, Angela M. and Maurits, Luke and Dinnage, Russell and Dunn, Michael and Reesink, Ger and Singer, Ruth and Bowern, Claire and Epps, Patience L and Hill, Jane and Vesakoski, Outi and Robbeets, Martine and Abbas, Noor Karolin and Auer, Daniel and Bakker, Nancy A. and Barbos, Giulia and Borges, Robert D. and Danielsen, Swintha and Dorenbusch, Luise and Dorn, Ella and Elliott, John and Falcone, Giada and Fischer, Jana and Ate, Yustinus Ghanggo and Gibson, Hannah and Göbel, Hans-Philipp and Goodall, Jemima A. and Gruner, Victoria and Harvey, Andrew and Hayes, Rebekah and Heer, Leonard and Miranda, Roberto E. Herrera and Hübler, Nataliia and Huntington-Rainey, Biu H. and Ivani, Jessica K. and Johns, Marilen and Just, Erika and Kashima, Eri and Kipf, Carolina and Klingenberg, Janina V. and König, Nikita and Koti, Aikaterina and Kowalik, Richard G. A. and Krasnoukhova, Olga and Lindvall, Nora L. M. and Lorenzen, Mandy and Lutzenberger, Hannah and Martins, Tânia R.A. and German, Celia Mata and Meer, Suzanne van der and Samamé, Jaime Montoya and Müller, Michael and Muradoglu, Saliha and Neely, Kelsey and Nickel, Johanna and Norvik, Miina and Oluoch, Cheryl Akinyi and Peacock, Jesse and Pearey, India O.C. and Peck, Naomi and Petit, Stephanie and Pieper, Sören and Poblete, Mariana and Prestipino, Daniel and Raabe, Linda and Raja, Amna and Reimringer, Janis and Rey, Sydney C. and Rizaew, Julia and Ruppert, Eloisa and Salmon, Kim K. and Sammet, Jill and Schembri, Rhiannon and Schlabbach, Lars and Schmidt, Frederick W.P. and Skilton, Amalia and Smith, Wikaliler Daniel and Sousa, Hilário de and Sverredal, Kristin and Valle, Daniel and Vera, Javier and Voß, Judith and Witte, Tim and Wu, Henry and Yam, Stephanie and 葉婧婷, Jingting Ye and Yong, Maisie and Yuditha, Tessa and Zariquiey, Roberto and Forkel, Robert and Evans, Nicholas and Levinson, Stephen C. and Haspelmath, Martin and Greenhill, Simon J. and Atkinson, Quentin D. and Gray, Russell D.},
  journal = {Science Advances},
  volume = {9},
  number = {16},
  publisher = {American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)},
  year = {2023},
  doi = {10.1126/sciadv.adg6175},
  url = {https://simon.net.nz/articles/grambank/},
}

131 citations · FWCI 258.0 · top 1% cited · OpenAlex

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