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Author:   Daniel Nettle (Research Fellow in Anthropology, Research Fellow in Anthropology, Merton College, Oxford, and a member of the Human Biodiversity Project at the University of Cambridge)
Publisher:   Oxford University Press
Imprint:   Oxford University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.50cm , Height: 1.10cm , Length: 23.30cm
Weight:   0.276kg
ISBN:  

9780198238577

ISBN 10:   0198238576
Pages:   180
Publication Date:   22 April 1999
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   To order  
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Table of Contents

1: Introduction 1.1: Preamble 1.2: The Family Tree Model 1.3: The Linguistic Item and Linguistic Pool 1.4: Levels and Diversity in the Linguistic Pool 1.5: Justification, Disguised as Apology 1.6: The Need for an Interdisciplinary Approach 2: Language Evolution: Basic Mechanisms 2.1: Introduction 2.2: The Neutral Model 2.3: Problems with the Neutral Model 2.4: Additional Amplifiers 2.5: Summary and Conclusions 3: Language Evolution: Computer Simulations 3.1: Introduction 3.2: The Use of Computer Simulations 3.3: Methods 3.4: Basic Results 3.5: More Realistic Social Structures 3.6: Social Selection 3.7: Functional Selection 3.8: Discrete Traits 3.9: Discussion 3.10: Adaptive Significance of Social Selection 4: Language Diversity: Patterns in Space 4.1: Introduction 4.2: Quantifying Language Diversity 4.3: Vectors of Language Spread 4.4: Case Studies 4.5: Ecological Risk as a Universal Constraint 4.6: Testing the Theory: Methods 4.7: Testing the Theory: Results 4.8: Hunter-gatherers 4.9: Conclusions 5: Language Diversity: Changes in Time 5.1: Introduction 5.2: The Palaeolithic Equilibrium 5.3: The Neolithic Punctuation 5.4: The Neolithic Aftershock 5.5: The Industrial Punctuation 5.6: Prospect 6: Phylogenetic Diversity 6.1: Introduction 6.2: Lineages and Stocks 6.3: The Distribution of Stocks 6.4: Stocks and Time: Nichol's Model 6.5: Stocks and Time: An Alternative Model 6.6: Validating the Model 6.7: Conclusions 7: Structural Diversity 7.1: Introduction 7.2: Causes of Structural Diversity 7.3: Geographical Distribution of Structural Diversity 7.4: Case Study: Phonological Inventory and the Lexicon 7.5: Conclusions Epilogue Appendix - Global Language Diversity Data

Reviews

This volume represents the synthesis of a bewildering amount of information and theory in numerous disciplines. The Journal of The Royal Anthropological Institute A panopoly of possible microprocesses of language variation are explored painstakingly and with great ingenuity by the author ... This book is a mine of geolinguistic and sociolinguistic data, presented in a plain and captivating style. TREE ... a valuable contribution to our understanding of how and why languages have changed over time. Journal of Linguistics

This volume represents the synthesis of a bewildering amount of information and theory in numerous disciplines. The Journal of The Royal Anthropological Institute A panopoly of possible microprocesses of language variation are explored painstakingly and with great ingenuity by the author ... This book is a mine of geolinguistic and sociolinguistic data, presented in a plain and captivating style. TREE ... a valuable contribution to our understanding of how and why languages have changed over time. Journal of Linguistics

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