News From the Field

New insights into origins of the world's languages


February 18, 2015

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Linguists have long agreed that languages from English to Greek to Hindi, known as "Indo-European languages," are the modern descendants of a language family that first emerged from a common ancestor spoken thousands of years ago. Now, a new study gives more information on when and where it was most likely used. Using data from over 150 languages, linguists at the University of California, Berkeley, provide evidence that this ancestor language originated 5,500-6,500 years ago.Full Story

Source
Linguistic Society of America

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