Abstract

Phylogenetic methods have revolutionised evolutionary biology and have recently been applied to studies of linguistic and cultural evolution. However, the basic comparative data on the languages of the world required for these analyses is often widely dispersed in hard to obtain sources. Here we outline how our Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database (ABVD) helps remedy this situation by collating wordlists from over 500 languages into one web-accessible database. We describe the technology underlying the ABVD and discuss the benefits that an evolutionary bioinformatic approach can provide. These include facilitating computational comparative linguistic research, answering questions about human prehistory, enabling syntheses with genetic data, and safe-guarding fragile linguistic information.

Details

Title
The Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database: From Bioinformatics to Lexomics
Author
Greenhill, Simon J; Blust, Robert; Gray, Russell D
First page
271
Publication year
2008
Publication date
2008
Publisher
Sage Publications Ltd.
e-ISSN
1176-9343
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
1038141425
Copyright
Copyright Libertas Academica Ltd 2008