. Earth Science News .
ABOUT US
Single 'ancestor' language theorized

disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only
by Staff Writers
Auckland, New Zealand (UPI) Apr 14, 2011
Modern languages, all 6,000 or so, may have all descended from a single ancestral language spoken in Africa more than 50,000 years ago, a study says.

Study author Quentin Atkinson of the University of Auckland in New Zealand says the first migrating populations leaving Africa laid the groundwork for all the world's cultures by taking their single language with them, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

"It was the catalyst that spurred the human expansion that we all are a product of," he said.

Atkinson based his research on phonemes, distinct kinds of sounds such as vowels, consonants and tones, combining that with a concept borrowed from population genetics known as "the founder effect."

That concept holds that when a very small number of individuals break off from a larger population, there is a gradual loss of variation and complexity in the breakaway group.

If a similar effect could be discerned in phonemes, Atkinson thought, it would lend credence to the theory that modern verbal communication originated in Africa and only then expanded elsewhere.

Atkinson analyzed 504 world languages and discovered that, on average, languages with the most phonemes are spoken in Africa, while those with the fewest phonemes are spoken in South America and on tropical islands in the Pacific.

The findings are consistent with the prevailing "out of Africa" view of the origin of modern human, with recent genetic evidence suggesting modern humans emerged in Africa alone, about 200,000 years ago.

Then about 50,000 to 70,000 years ago, the evidence says, a small number of them migrated and colonized the rest of the world, becoming the ancestors of all non-African populations on the planet.



Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
All About Human Beings and How We Got To Be Here



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


ABOUT US
Negative Image Of People Produces Selfish Actions
Bonn, Germany (SPX) Apr 14, 2011
The expectations people have about how others will behave play a large role in determining whether people cooperate with each other or not. And moreover that very first expectation, or impression, is hard to change. "This is particularly true when the impression is a negative one," says Michael Kurschilgen from the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods in Bonn, summarising ... read more







ABOUT US
Japan can pay for rebuild: central bank governor

Japan orders nuclear firm to compensate families

Japan police find 10 bodies in nuclear zone

Japan mulls 'disaster bonds': report

ABOUT US
New India setback for S. Korea's POSCO plant

Store blood cells from Fukushima workers - Lancet letter

Using Carbon Fiber To Reinforce Buildings And Protect From Explosions

Debate over BPA ongoing in Europe

ABOUT US
Sizzling, landlocked Madrid gets cool new 'beach'

BP feels fishermen's fury over Gulf oil spill

Want to cut shipping costs? Then go fly a kite

Sushi bars in Paris adjust to life after Fukushima

ABOUT US
West Antarctic Warming Triggered By Warmer Sea Surface In Tropical Pacific

Arctic Sea Ice Flights Near Completion

ESA Arctic Ice Campaign Takes Off

Sand Drift Explained

ABOUT US
New Citrus Variety Released By Uc Riverside Is Very Sweet, Juicy And Low-Seeded

Brazil issues $1.2 bln in fines on beef companies

Vegetarian magazine defends meat photos

Half EU states negative on GM foods

ABOUT US
Increasing activity at Philippine volcano

Hundreds of aftershocks worsen Japan's quake trauma

One year on, Iceland volcano sleeps, but world still quakes

An Electric Yellowstone Makes For Super Visuals

ABOUT US
Senegal opens Chinese-built theatre

UN should not take sides in I.Coast: Medvedev

Sierra Leone investigates a mining land acquisition

Gbagbo on pro-Ouattara TV: 'I want us to lay down arms'

ABOUT US
Scripps Research Scientists Identify Mechanism Of Long-Term Memory

Negative Image Of People Produces Selfish Actions

Single 'ancestor' language theorized

Are Your Values Right Or Left? The Answer Is More Literal Than You Think


The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement