A Pipeline for Computational Historical Linguistics

Dados Bibliográficos

ID19563307
AutoresLydia Steiner, Michael Cysouw (0000-0003-3168-4946), Peter Stadler (0000-0003-4000-3778), Peter F Stadler (0000-0002-5016-5191)
Ano2011
Volume1
Fascículo1
Páginas89-127
Data de publicação2011-01-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoLanguage Dynamics and Change (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 2210-5824 • E-ISSN: 2210-5832
EditoraWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1163/221058211x570358
OpenAlexW2075149030
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas11
Referências citadas13

There are many parallels between historical linguistics and molecular phylogenetics. In this paper we describe an algorithmic pipeline that mimics, as closely as possible, the traditional workflow of language reconstruction known as the comparative method. The pipeline consists of suitably modified algorithms based on recent research in bioinformatics, which are adapted to the specifics of linguistic data. This approach can alleviate much of the laborious research needed to establish proof of historical relationships between languages. Equally important to our proposal is that each step in the workflow of the comparative method is implemented independently, so language specialists have the possibility to scrutinize intermediate results. We have used our pipeline to investigate two groups of languages, the Tsezic languages of the Caucasus and the Mataco-Guaicuruan languages of South America, based on the lexical data from the Intercontinental Dictionary Series (IDS). The results of these tests show that the current approach is a viable and useful extension to historical linguistic research

Database · Historical linguistics · Linguistics · Natural language processing · Parallels · Programming language · Workflow · Computer Science · Engineering · Language and cultural evolution · Linguistic Variation and Morphology · Natural Language Processing Techniques