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Language classification by numbers : April McMahon and Robert McMahon by April M. S. McMahon; Robert McMahon is a nonfiction available to read on EtoBox.

What is Language classification by numbers : April McMahon and Robert McMahon about?

This book considers how languages have traditionally been divided into families, and asks how they should classified in the future. It describes and applies computer programs from biology and evolutionary genetics to data about languages and shows how the power of the computer can be harnessed to throw light on long-standing problems in historical linguistics. It tests current theories and hypotheses, shows how new ideas can be formulated, and offers a series of demonstrations that the new techniques applied to old data can produce convincing results that are sometimes startlingly at odds with accepted wisdom. April and Robert McMahon combine the expertise and perspectives of an historical linguist and a geneticist. They analyse the links between linguistic and population genetics, and consider how far language can be used to discover and understand the histories and interrelations of human populations. They explore the origins and formation of the Indo-European languages and examine less well studied languages in South America. Their book will be of great practical importance to students and researchers in historical and comparative linguistics and will interest all those concerne

Who reads Language classification by numbers : April McMahon and Robert McMahon?

It is typically read by self-directed learners exploring a subject in depth.

Common subject areas: history, science, philosophy, social sciences.

Author
April M. S. McMahon; Robert McMahon
Publisher
IRL Press at Oxford University Press
Published
2005
Language
EN
ISBN
9780199279029
Category
nonfiction
Subjects
Linguistics, Language Learning, Literary Fiction

Other editions & translations

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