Dan Dediu
Dados Biográficos
| ID | 179862 |
|---|---|
| NOME | Dan Dediu |
| PRENOMES | Dan |
| SOBRENOME | Dediu |
| ASSINATURA | DEDIU D |
| AFILIAÇÕES | Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-0704-6365 |
| VERIFICADO | Sim |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 19 |
| TOTAL DE CITAÇÕES | 81 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 19 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMEIRO ANO DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 2010 |
| ANO MAIS RECENTE DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 2026 |
| ÍNDICE H | 5 |
There Is More Than Meets the Eye
Color's ultimate physical reality is continuous, and yet human beings “cut” this continuum into a rather small number of categories reflected in their languages’ color lexicon. There are striking cross‐linguistic differences in the color lexicon, which are primarily attributed to differences in communicative needs, but also striking commonalities, attributed to a common human perceptual system. Here, we challenge this notion of a uniform perceptu…
Replication, robustness and the angst of false positives
Article Replication, robustness and the angst of false positives: a timely target article and its multifaceted comments was published on October 1, 2025 in the journal Linguistic Typology (volume 29, issue 3)
What’s in the r ? A review of the usage of the r symbol in the Illustrations of the IPA
What does the symbol r mean when it is used in a transcription? Here we analyze the use of the symbols for the alveolar trills ( r ) and taps ( ) among the Illustrations of the IPA since 1971. We begin by sketching the history of the various symbols and conventions used to represent the trill and the tap in two transcription traditions: the Americanist Transcription System and the International Phonetic Alphabet. From the 213 languages covered un…
What conditions tone paradigms in Yukuna
Yukuna is an understudied Arawak language of North-West Amazonia with a privative tonal system. In this system, roots are underlyingly specified for tone, whilst affixes are toneless. However, affixation interacts with tone, leading to many variations in surface tonal patterns. This paper puts forth a qualitative analysis of Yukuna’s tonal system, and provides data-driven evidence in favor of this analysis using machine learning methods. More pre…
The effects of larynx height on vowel production are mitigated by the active control of articulators
Weak biases emerging from vocal tract anatomy shape the repeated transmission of vowels
Making genealogical language classifications available for phylogenetic analysis
One of the best-known types of non-independence between languages is caused by genealogical relationships due to descent from a common ancestor. These can be represented by (more or less resolved and controversial) language family trees. In theory, one can argue that language families should be built through the strict application of the comparative method of historical linguistics, but in practice this is not always the case, and there are sever…
The evolution of language families is shaped by the environment beyond neutral drift
Talking heads
Language is not isolated from its wider environment
Correlational Studies in Typological and Historical Linguistics
We review a number of recent studies that have identified either correlations between different linguistic features (e.g., implicational universals) or correlations between linguistic features and nonlinguistic properties of speakers or their environment (e.g., effects of geography on vocabulary). We compare large-scale quantitative studies with more traditional theoretical and historical linguistic research and identify divergent assumptions and…
Cultural Evolution of Language
This chapter argues that an evolutionary cultural approach to language not only has already proven fruitful, but it probably holds the key to understand many puzzling aspects of language, its change and origins.The chapter begins by highlighting several still common misconceptions about language that might seem to call into question a cultural evolutionary approach.It explores the antiquity of language and sketches a general evolutionary approach…
On the antiquity of language
It is usually assumed that modern language is a recent phenomenon, coinciding with the emergence of modern humans themselves. Many assume as well that this is the result of a single, sudden mutation giving rise to the full "modern package." However, we argue here that recognizably modern language is likely an ancient feature of our genus pre-dating at least the common ancestor of modern humans and Neandertals about half a million years ago. To th…
Historical Demography and Historical Sociolinguistics
Widespread minority language shift in Early Modern Europe is often ascribed to restrictive language policies and the migration of both majority- and minority-language speakers. However, without a sociohistorically credible account of the mechanisms through which these events caused a language shift, these policies lack explanatory power. Inspired by research on 'language histories from below,' we present an integrated sociohistorical and linguist…
Individual Differences in the Acquisition of a Complex L2 Phonology
Many learners of a foreign language (L2) struggle to correctly pronounce newly learned speech sounds, yet many others achieve this with apparent ease. Here we explored how a training study of learning complex consonant clusters at the very onset of L2 acquisition can inform us about L2 learning in general and individual differences in particular. To this end, adult Dutch native speakers were trained on Slovak words with complex consonant clusters…
The Structural Connectivity Underpinning Language Aptitude, Working Memory, and IQ in the Perisylvian Language Network
In this article, we report the results of a study on the relationship between individual differences in language learning aptitude and the structural connectivity of language pathways in the adult brain, the first of its kind. We measured four components of language aptitude (vocabulary learning; sound recognition; sound-symbol correspondence; and grammatical inferencing) using the LLAMA language aptitude test. Spatial working memory, verbal work…
Are Languages Really Independent from Genes? If Not, What Would a Genetic Bias Affecting Language Diversity Look Like
It is generally accepted that the relationship between human genes and language is very complex and multifaceted. This has its roots in the “regular” complexity governing the interplay among genes and between genes and environment for most phenotypes, but with the added layer of supraontogenetic and supra-individual processes defining culture. At the coarsest level, focusing on the species, it is clear that human-specific--but not necessarily fac…
Are Languages Really Independent from Genes
It is generally accepted that the relationship between human genes and language is very complex and multifaceted. This has its roots in the "regular" complexity governing the interplay among genes and between genes and environment for most phenotypes, but with the added layer of supra-ontogenetic and supra-individual processes defining culture. At the coarsest level, focusing on the species, it is clear that human-specific—but not necessarily fac…
The past, present, and future of English dialects
This article reports on research which seeks to compare and measure the similarities between phonetic transcriptions in the analysis of relationships between varieties of English. It addresses the question of whether these varieties have been converging, diverging, or maintaining equilibrium as a result of endogenous and exogenous phonetic and phonological changes. We argue that it is only possible to identify such patterns of change by the simul…
On the antiquity of language
It is usually assumed that modern language is a recent phenomenon, coinciding with the emergence of modern humans themselves. Many assume as well that this is the result of a single, sudden mutation giving rise to the full "modern package." However, we argue here that recognizably modern language is likely an ancient feature of our genus pre-dating at least the common ancestor of modern humans and Neandertals about half a million years ago. To th…
Language is not isolated from its wider environment
Correlational Studies in Typological and Historical Linguistics
We review a number of recent studies that have identified either correlations between different linguistic features (e.g., implicational universals) or correlations between linguistic features and nonlinguistic properties of speakers or their environment (e.g., effects of geography on vocabulary). We compare large-scale quantitative studies with more traditional theoretical and historical linguistic research and identify divergent assumptions and…
Individual Differences in the Acquisition of a Complex L2 Phonology
Many learners of a foreign language (L2) struggle to correctly pronounce newly learned speech sounds, yet many others achieve this with apparent ease. Here we explored how a training study of learning complex consonant clusters at the very onset of L2 acquisition can inform us about L2 learning in general and individual differences in particular. To this end, adult Dutch native speakers were trained on Slovak words with complex consonant clusters…
The Structural Connectivity Underpinning Language Aptitude, Working Memory, and IQ in the Perisylvian Language Network
In this article, we report the results of a study on the relationship between individual differences in language learning aptitude and the structural connectivity of language pathways in the adult brain, the first of its kind. We measured four components of language aptitude (vocabulary learning; sound recognition; sound-symbol correspondence; and grammatical inferencing) using the LLAMA language aptitude test. Spatial working memory, verbal work…
The past, present, and future of English dialects
This article reports on research which seeks to compare and measure the similarities between phonetic transcriptions in the analysis of relationships between varieties of English. It addresses the question of whether these varieties have been converging, diverging, or maintaining equilibrium as a result of endogenous and exogenous phonetic and phonological changes. We argue that it is only possible to identify such patterns of change by the simul…
Are Languages Really Independent from Genes? If Not, What Would a Genetic Bias Affecting Language Diversity Look Like
It is generally accepted that the relationship between human genes and language is very complex and multifaceted. This has its roots in the “regular” complexity governing the interplay among genes and between genes and environment for most phenotypes, but with the added layer of supraontogenetic and supra-individual processes defining culture. At the coarsest level, focusing on the species, it is clear that human-specific--but not necessarily fac…
The evolution of language families is shaped by the environment beyond neutral drift
Weak biases emerging from vocal tract anatomy shape the repeated transmission of vowels
The past, present, and future of English dialects
This article reports on research which seeks to compare and measure the similarities between phonetic transcriptions in the analysis of relationships between varieties of English. It addresses the question of whether these varieties have been converging, diverging, or maintaining equilibrium as a result of endogenous and exogenous phonetic and phonological changes. We argue that it is only possible to identify such patterns of change by the simul…
Are Languages Really Independent from Genes? If Not, What Would a Genetic Bias Affecting Language Diversity Look Like
It is generally accepted that the relationship between human genes and language is very complex and multifaceted. This has its roots in the “regular” complexity governing the interplay among genes and between genes and environment for most phenotypes, but with the added layer of supraontogenetic and supra-individual processes defining culture. At the coarsest level, focusing on the species, it is clear that human-specific--but not necessarily fac…
Are Languages Really Independent from Genes
It is generally accepted that the relationship between human genes and language is very complex and multifaceted. This has its roots in the "regular" complexity governing the interplay among genes and between genes and environment for most phenotypes, but with the added layer of supra-ontogenetic and supra-individual processes defining culture. At the coarsest level, focusing on the species, it is clear that human-specific—but not necessarily fac…
Historical Demography and Historical Sociolinguistics
Widespread minority language shift in Early Modern Europe is often ascribed to restrictive language policies and the migration of both majority- and minority-language speakers. However, without a sociohistorically credible account of the mechanisms through which these events caused a language shift, these policies lack explanatory power. Inspired by research on 'language histories from below,' we present an integrated sociohistorical and linguist…
Individual Differences in the Acquisition of a Complex L2 Phonology
Many learners of a foreign language (L2) struggle to correctly pronounce newly learned speech sounds, yet many others achieve this with apparent ease. Here we explored how a training study of learning complex consonant clusters at the very onset of L2 acquisition can inform us about L2 learning in general and individual differences in particular. To this end, adult Dutch native speakers were trained on Slovak words with complex consonant clusters…
The Structural Connectivity Underpinning Language Aptitude, Working Memory, and IQ in the Perisylvian Language Network
In this article, we report the results of a study on the relationship between individual differences in language learning aptitude and the structural connectivity of language pathways in the adult brain, the first of its kind. We measured four components of language aptitude (vocabulary learning; sound recognition; sound-symbol correspondence; and grammatical inferencing) using the LLAMA language aptitude test. Spatial working memory, verbal work…
Cultural Evolution of Language
This chapter argues that an evolutionary cultural approach to language not only has already proven fruitful, but it probably holds the key to understand many puzzling aspects of language, its change and origins.The chapter begins by highlighting several still common misconceptions about language that might seem to call into question a cultural evolutionary approach.It explores the antiquity of language and sketches a general evolutionary approach…
On the antiquity of language
It is usually assumed that modern language is a recent phenomenon, coinciding with the emergence of modern humans themselves. Many assume as well that this is the result of a single, sudden mutation giving rise to the full "modern package." However, we argue here that recognizably modern language is likely an ancient feature of our genus pre-dating at least the common ancestor of modern humans and Neandertals about half a million years ago. To th…
Correlational Studies in Typological and Historical Linguistics
We review a number of recent studies that have identified either correlations between different linguistic features (e.g., implicational universals) or correlations between linguistic features and nonlinguistic properties of speakers or their environment (e.g., effects of geography on vocabulary). We compare large-scale quantitative studies with more traditional theoretical and historical linguistic research and identify divergent assumptions and…
Talking heads
Language is not isolated from its wider environment
Making genealogical language classifications available for phylogenetic analysis
One of the best-known types of non-independence between languages is caused by genealogical relationships due to descent from a common ancestor. These can be represented by (more or less resolved and controversial) language family trees. In theory, one can argue that language families should be built through the strict application of the comparative method of historical linguistics, but in practice this is not always the case, and there are sever…
The evolution of language families is shaped by the environment beyond neutral drift
The effects of larynx height on vowel production are mitigated by the active control of articulators
Weak biases emerging from vocal tract anatomy shape the repeated transmission of vowels
What conditions tone paradigms in Yukuna
Yukuna is an understudied Arawak language of North-West Amazonia with a privative tonal system. In this system, roots are underlyingly specified for tone, whilst affixes are toneless. However, affixation interacts with tone, leading to many variations in surface tonal patterns. This paper puts forth a qualitative analysis of Yukuna’s tonal system, and provides data-driven evidence in favor of this analysis using machine learning methods. More pre…
What’s in the r ? A review of the usage of the r symbol in the Illustrations of the IPA
What does the symbol r mean when it is used in a transcription? Here we analyze the use of the symbols for the alveolar trills ( r ) and taps ( ) among the Illustrations of the IPA since 1971. We begin by sketching the history of the various symbols and conventions used to represent the trill and the tap in two transcription traditions: the Americanist Transcription System and the International Phonetic Alphabet. From the 213 languages covered un…
Replication, robustness and the angst of false positives
Article Replication, robustness and the angst of false positives: a timely target article and its multifaceted comments was published on October 1, 2025 in the journal Linguistic Typology (volume 29, issue 3)
There Is More Than Meets the Eye
Color's ultimate physical reality is continuous, and yet human beings “cut” this continuum into a rather small number of categories reflected in their languages’ color lexicon. There are striking cross‐linguistic differences in the color lexicon, which are primarily attributed to differences in communicative needs, but also striking commonalities, attributed to a common human perceptual system. Here, we challenge this notion of a uniform perceptu…
Linguistics (12 obras) · Language and cultural evolution (11 obras) · Computer Science (10 obras) · Psychology (10 obras) · Linguistic Variation and Morphology (9 obras) · Biology (7 obras) · Cognitive psychology (6 obras) · Phonetics and Phonology Research (6 obras) · Philosophy (5 obras) · Sociology (5 obras)