A phylogenetic analysis of stable structural features in West African languages

Bibliographic Data

ID10793450
AuthorsKristoffer Friis Bøegh (0000-0002-4644-7831, Aarhus University, corresponding author), Aymeric Daval-Markussen (0009-0003-6222-8019, Aarhus University), Peter Bakker (0000-0002-2072-0430, Aarhus University)
Year2016
Pages62-94
Publication date2016-06-15
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueStudies in African Linguistics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0039-3533 • E-ISSN: 2154-428X
PublisherUniversity of Florida George A Smathers Libraries (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.32473/sal.v45i1.107255
OpenAlexW2592384037
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited26

Lexical comparison has long dominated the study of West African language history. Ap-proaching the subject from a different perspective, this paper compares a sample of West African languages based on a selection of typological features proposed to be temporally stable and hence possible markers of historical connections between languages. We utilize phylogenetic networks to visualize and compare typological distances in the language sample, in order to assess the extent to which the distributional properties of the selected features reflect genealogy, areality, or no plausible historical signal. Languages tend to cluster in accordance with genealogical relationships identified in the literature, albeit with a number of inconsistencies argued to reflect contact influences and chance resemblances. Results support the contention that typology can provide information about historical links between West African languages

Biology · Geography · Languages of Africa · Linguistics · Phylogenetic tree · History · Language and cultural evolution · Language, Linguistics, Cultural Analysis · Philosophy · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation