Grambank reveals the importance of genealogical constraints on linguistic diversity and highlights the impact of language loss.
Hedvig SkirgårdHannah J HaynieDamián E BlasiHarald HammarströmJeremy CollinsJay J LatarcheJakob LesageTobias WeberAlena Witzlack-MakarevichSam PassmoreAngela ChiraLuke MauritsRussell DinnageMichael DunnGer ReesinkRuth SingerClaire BowernPatience EppsJane HillOuti VesakoskiMartine RobbeetsNoor Karolin AbbasDaniel AuerNancy A BakkerGiulia BarbosRobert D BorgesSwintha DanielsenLuise DorenbuschElla DornJohn ElliottGiada FalconeJana FischerYustinus Ghanggo AteHannah GibsonHans-Philipp GöbelJemima A GoodallVictoria GrunerAndrew HarveyRebekah HayesLeonard HeerRoberto E Herrera MirandaNataliia HüblerBiu Huntington-RaineyJessica K IvaniMarilen JohnsErika JustEri KashimaCarolina KipfJanina V KlingenbergNikita KönigAikaterina KotiRichard G A KowalikOlga KrasnoukhovaNora L M LindvallMandy LorenzenHannah LutzenbergerTânia R A MartinsCelia Mata GermanSuzanne van der MeerJaime Montoya SamaméMichael MüllerSaliha MuradogluKelsey NeelyJohanna NickelMiina NorvikCheryl Akinyi OluochJesse PeacockIndia O C PeareyNaomi PeckStephanie PetitSören PieperMariana PobleteDaniel PrestipinoLinda RaabeAmna RajaJanis ReimringerSydney C ReyJulia RizaewEloisa RuppertKim K SalmonJill SammetRhiannon SchembriLars SchlabbachFrederick W P SchmidtAmalia SkiltonWikaliler Daniel SmithHilário de SousaKristin SverredalDaniel ValleJavier VeraJudith VoßTim WitteHenry WuStephanie YamJingting YeMaisie YongTessa YudithaRoberto ZariquieyRobert ForkelNicholas EvansStephen C LevinsonMartin HaspelmathSimon J GreenhillQuentin D AtkinsonRussell D GrayPublished in: Science advances (2023)
While global patterns of human genetic diversity are increasingly well characterized, the diversity of human languages remains less systematically described. Here, we outline the Grambank database. With over 400,000 data points and 2400 languages, Grambank is the largest comparative grammatical database available. The comprehensiveness of Grambank allows us to quantify the relative effects of genealogical inheritance and geographic proximity on the structural diversity of the world's languages, evaluate constraints on linguistic diversity, and identify the world's most unusual languages. An analysis of the consequences of language loss reveals that the reduction in diversity will be strikingly uneven across the major linguistic regions of the world. Without sustained efforts to document and revitalize endangered languages, our linguistic window into human history, cognition, and culture will be seriously fragmented.