Found 3970 Hypotheses across 397 Pages (0.007 seconds)
  1. Ma and Na sound classes will be used for the mother, while Pa and Ta sound classes will be used for the father (2, 4).Murdock, George Peter - Cross-language parallels in parental kin terms, 1959 - 2 Variables

    This article examines the universal tendency for languages, regardless of their historical relationships, to develop similar words for mother and father on the basis of nursery forms. Findings suggest that Ma, Na, Pa, and Ta are significantly more common sound classes denoting the mother or father.

    Related HypothesesCite
  2. The relationship between rate of word replacement and usage frequency is stronger for kinship terms than it is for core vocabulary in Indo-European languages.Rácz, Péter - Usage frequency and lexical class determine the evolution of kinship terms i..., 2019 - 2 Variables

    Previous research has found that words are replaced faster in language vocabularies the less the word is used, whereas words that are used more frequently endure longer. Drawing from this theory, the authors of this article propose two questions: 1) Is the rate of replacement for Indo-European kinship terms correlated with their usage frequency? 2) How does this relationship differ between kinship terms and core vocabulary? Using phylogenetic comparative methods to analyze 10 kinship categories from 47 Indo-European languages, the authors find that more frequently used kinship terms tend to be replaced at a much slower rate than less frequently used words. Furthermore, this relationship between word replacement rate and usage frequency is stronger for kinship terms than it is for core vocabulary terms.

    Related HypothesesCite
  3. The rate of replacement for Indo-European kinship terms is correlated with their usage frequency. Rácz, Péter - Usage frequency and lexical class determine the evolution of kinship terms i..., 2019 - 2 Variables

    Previous research has found that words are replaced faster in language vocabularies the less the word is used, whereas words that are used more frequently endure longer. Drawing from this theory, the authors of this article propose two questions: 1) Is the rate of replacement for Indo-European kinship terms correlated with their usage frequency? 2) How does this relationship differ between kinship terms and core vocabulary? Using phylogenetic comparative methods to analyze 10 kinship categories from 47 Indo-European languages, the authors find that more frequently used kinship terms tend to be replaced at a much slower rate than less frequently used words. Furthermore, this relationship between word replacement rate and usage frequency is stronger for kinship terms than it is for core vocabulary terms.

    Related HypothesesCite
  4. In societies with mother-child households the father's relationship to the child is more remote than in societies with other household types. However, mother-child households are concentrated in Negro-Africa and in Negro tribes in the Cirum-Mediterranean (276-278)Murdock, George Peter - Settlement patterns and community organization: cross-cultural codes 3, 1972 - 3 Variables

    This article investigates residence, descent rules, and family structure. Empirical analysis suggests that they are associated with settlement patterns, particularly economic and demographic variables.

    Related HypothesesCite
  5. Relative reliance on consonants vs. vowels in human languages cross-culturally will be associated with different environments (5).Maddieson, Ian - Human language diversity and the acoustic adaptation hypothesis, 2015 - 10 Variables

    In the field of bioacoustics, the Acoustic Adaptation theory suggests that variation in vocalization across different species can be accounted for by the acoustic properties of different habitats. Here, the researchers test consonant- and vowel-heaviness in human languages against various environmental variables in order to examine the theory's potential application to our own species. The authors identify a significant negative correlation between consonant heaviness and temperature, precipitation, and tree cover, and some positive correlation with rugosity and elevation as their most important findings, while acknowledging the potentially influential roles of migration and demographic factors in producing this relationship.

    Related HypothesesCite
  6. "Weekdays that are chronologically closer to weekend days will aquire loan words as labels before weekdays in the middle of the seven-day cycle…languages borrow terms for Saturday and Sunday before they borrow a term for any weekday" (536).Brown, Cecil H. - Naming the days of the week: a cross-language study of lexical acculturation, 1989 - 2 Variables

    This paper provides a linguistic study of the effect of lexical acculturation on the names given to days of the week. Findings show that loan words are used most frequently adopted for weekend days, followed by the days of the week that are closest to the weekends, and least frequently adopted for the days in the middle of the seven-day cycle.

    Related HypothesesCite
  7. Ambient humidity will be positively associated with vowel utilization.Everett, Caleb - Languages in Drier Climates Use Fewer Vowels, 2017 - 3 Variables

    This study sampled over 4,012 language varieties, comparing their version of 40 generally universal words, such as body parts, water, the sun, pronouns, and common behaviors or animals. These language variations were tested in their association to "specific humidity," the variable used to represent ambient humidity of a language location. Results suggest negative association between the dryness of climate and the utilization of vowels, consitent with the idea that dry air affects the behavior of the larynx.

    Related HypothesesCite
  8. "Tylor advanced the plausible hypothesis that mother-in-law avoidance should be highly correlated with matrilocal residence" (366)Murdock, George Peter - Cross-sex patterns of kin behavior, 1971 - 2 Variables

    This study re-examines patterns of cross-sex kin relationships using new ethnographic data. The author looks specifically at cross-sex kin relationship in relation to marriage rules.

    Related HypothesesCite
  9. Sonorant consonant use will more common in warm climate languages than cold climate languages (126).Munroe, Robert L. - Warm climates and sonority classes: not simply more vowels and fewer consonants, 2009 - 2 Variables

    This article adds nuanced findings to the previous generalization that high sonority of the vowel explains its more frequent use in warmer climates. The authors find that “speakers in warm-climate languages make more use of the so-called “sonorant” consonants, that is, consonants with some of the qualities of vowels” (123).

    Related HypothesesCite
  10. Many basic vocabulary items will be associated with specific sounds across world languages.Blasi, Damian E. - Sound–meaning association biases evidenced across thousands of languages, 2016 - 2 Variables

    Scholars generally agree that, across languages, the relationship between particular sounds and the meaning of words is arbitrary. In this article the authors test this assumption, seeking patterned associations between sound and meaning in the basic vocabulary lists of a large, worldwide sample of languages.

    Related HypothesesCite