Researchers Argue That Human Languages May Adapt Like Biological Organisms

A recent report, published in the peer-reviewed journal PLoS ONE, offers a new hypothesis, and challenges an explanation based only on drift. Gary Lupyan, of the University of Pennsylvania, and Rick Dale, of the University of Memphis, conducted a large-scale statistical analysis of over 2,000 of the world’s languages aimed at testing whether certain social environments are correlated with certain linguistic properties. Their results draw connections between the evolution of human language and biological organisms. Just as very distantly related organisms converge on evolutionary strategies in particular niches, languages may adapt to the social environments in which they are learned and used.

from Medical News Today.com

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