Construction grammar is an approach to language that posits that units and structures in language can be exhaustively described as pairings between form and meaning. These pairings are called constructions and can have different degrees of abstraction, i.e. they span the entire range from very concrete () to very abstract constructions such as the ditransitive construction (). This approach has been applied to a wide variety of different areas of research in linguistics, such as how new constructions emerge and change historically. It has also been applied to investigate the evolutionary emergence of modern fully fledged language, i.e. the question of how systems of constructions can arise out of prelinguistic communication. In this paper, we review the contribution of usage-based construction grammar approaches to language change and language evolution to the questions of (i) the structure and nature of prehistoric languages and (ii) how constructions in prehistoric languages emerged out of non-linguistic or protolinguistic communication. In particular, we discuss the possibilities of using constructions as the main unit of analysis both in reconstructing predecessors of existing languages (protolanguages) and in formulating theories of how a potential predecessor of human language in general (protolanguage) must have looked like. This article is part of the theme issue 'Reconstructing prehistoric languages'.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8059648 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2020.0200 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
The genetic origins and impacts of historical Papuan migrations into Wallacea.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
December 2024
Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, The Environment Institute, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia.
Article Synopsis
- The tropical region of Wallacea was first settled by modern humans around 50,000 years ago, with Austronesian seafarers arriving approximately 3,500 years ago.
- Current populations in Wallacea show a mix of ancestries derived from both Papuan and Asian sources, suggesting interactions between local populations and Austronesian migrants, although much of the Papuan-related ancestry is traced back to migrations from New Guinea.
- Recent genetic analysis, alongside archaeological and linguistic evidence, indicates that the population history of Wallacea has been significantly influenced by the movement of Papuan genes, languages, and cultures over the last 3,500 years.
Ancient genomics support deep divergence between Eastern and Western Mediterranean Indo-European languages.
bioRxiv
December 2024
Lundbeck Foundation GeoGenetics Center, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
The Indo-European languages are among the most widely spoken in the world, yet their early diversification remains contentious. It is widely accepted that the spread of this language family across Europe from the 5th millennium BP correlates with the expansion and diversification of steppe-related genetic ancestry from the onset of the Bronze Age. However, multiple steppe-derived populations co-existed in Europe during this period, and it remains unclear how these populations diverged and which provided the demographic channels for the ancestral forms of the Italic, Celtic, Greek, and Armenian languages.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnder the name of "Lua": revisiting genetic heterogeneity and population ancestry of Austroasiatic speakers in northern Thailand through genomic analysis.
BMC Genomics
October 2024
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Background: Austroasiatic (AA)-speaking populations in northern Thailand are of significant interest due to their status as indigenous descendants and their location at the crossroads of AA prehistoric distribution across Southern China, the Indian Subcontinent, and Mainland Southeast Asia. However, the complexity of ethnic identification can result in inaccuracies regarding the origin and migration history of these populations. To address this, we have conducted a genome-wide SNP analysis of 89 individuals from two Lavue and three Lwa-endonym populations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe role of emerging elites in the formation and development of communities after the fall of the Roman Empire.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
September 2024
Department of Ecology and Evolution, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794.
Article Synopsis
- Elites were very important in shaping Europe after the Roman Empire fell, influencing both big and small communities during the Early Middle Ages.
- Researchers studied a community in Italy from the 6th to 8th centuries and found that it was made up of related elite families that grew into one big family over time.
- This community was diverse, welcoming different people as it developed, showing that powerful leaders could bring together various backgrounds instead of just sticking to their own.
Archaeological Artefact Database of Finland (AADA).
Sci Data
July 2024
Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
This paper presents the Archaeological Artefact Database of Finland (AADA) of prehistoric (covering period of almost 11,000 years) artefacts in Finland that are categorised by type and are accompanied with photos of the artefacts. The database is intended to contain all typologically classifiable prehistoric artefacts found in Finland and held in Finnish collections. This dataset provides spatio-temporal context for artefacts across different time periods and regions, as it includes approximately 38,000 single artefacts and approximately 10,000 pottery type identifications from the Early Mesolithic to the end of the Iron Age in Finland (c.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!