TY - JOUR
T1 - Geometric representations of language taxonomies
AU - Blanchard, Ph
AU - Petroni, F.
AU - Serva, M.
AU - Volchenkov, D.
PY - 2011/7/1
Y1 - 2011/7/1
N2 - A Markov chain analysis of a network generated by the matrix of lexical distances allows for representing complex relationships between different languages in a language family geometrically, in terms of distances and angles. The fully automated method for construction of language taxonomy is tested on a sample of fifty languages of the Indo-European language group and applied to a sample of fifty languages of the Austronesian language group. The Anatolian and Kurgan hypotheses of the Indo-European origin and the 'express train' model of the Polynesian origin are thoroughly discussed.
AB - A Markov chain analysis of a network generated by the matrix of lexical distances allows for representing complex relationships between different languages in a language family geometrically, in terms of distances and angles. The fully automated method for construction of language taxonomy is tested on a sample of fifty languages of the Indo-European language group and applied to a sample of fifty languages of the Austronesian language group. The Anatolian and Kurgan hypotheses of the Indo-European origin and the 'express train' model of the Polynesian origin are thoroughly discussed.
KW - Indo-European and Polynesian origins
KW - Language taxonomy
KW - Lexicostatistic data analysis
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79952630723&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.csl.2010.05.003
DO - 10.1016/j.csl.2010.05.003
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:79952630723
SN - 0885-2308
VL - 25
SP - 679
EP - 699
JO - Computer Speech and Language
JF - Computer Speech and Language
IS - 3
ER -