Found 3934 Hypotheses across 394 Pages (0.007 seconds)
  1. 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.

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  2. The number of consonant-vowel syllables will be positively associated with temperature (60, 64).Munroe, Robert L. - Cross-cultural correlates of the consonant-vowel (cv) syllable, 1996 - 2 Variables

    This study examines whether language construction, specifically the number of consonant-vowel syllables, will be related to the environment and literacy of a society. Empirical analysis suggests that consonant-vowel syllables are more common in warmer climates and less common in written languages.

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  3. Rate of exogamy will be negatively associated with community size. (1807)Dow, Gregory K. - The economics of exogamous marriage in small‐scale societies, 2016 - 10 Variables

    The authors develop and empirically test a model in which exogamy is negatively predicted by community size, due to decreasing heterogeneity from endogenous marriages in small settlements, and positively predicted by disparity in productivity between communities which is 'smoothed out' by transfer of community members through exogamous marriages. Support for both predictions is found, which is used to argue that cultural traits like marriage customs are heavily influenced by population-environment relationships.

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  4. Association between geographic language area and various environmental variables will be stronger among pastoralists and foragers than among agriculturalists (7).Currie, Thomas E. - The evolution of ethnolinguistic diversity, 2012 - 6 Variables

    The authors test the relationship between ethnolinguistic area and various environmental variables in a cross-cultural sample of hunter-gatherer, pastoral, and agricultural subsistence groups in order to evaluate various hypotheses surrounding the geographic and ecological origins of cultural diversity. They propose that societies which adopted agriculture at the beginning of the Holocene were less directly affected by climate which, combined with the effect of increasing political and cultural complexity, allowed coordination and homogenization of ethnolinguistic groups over a broader swathe of territory.

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  5. Political complexity of the society in which a language is spoken will be positively associated with the geographic range of that language (7340).Currie, Thomas E. - Political complexity predicts the spread of ethnolinguistic groups, 2009 - 6 Variables

    The researchers utilize a GIS approach in order to examine the relationship between global linguistic distribution and various cultural and environmental factors. The resulting positive association between political complexity and both latitude and language range leads the researchers to propose that large, politically complex entities exert a homogenizing pressure on language. However, the causal link may also be in the other direction, with possession of common language facilitating the creation of more complex political institutions.

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  6. Rate of exogamy will be positively associated with disparities in productivity between the two residence sites. (1807)Dow, Gregory K. - The economics of exogamous marriage in small‐scale societies, 2016 - 12 Variables

    The authors develop and empirically test a model in which exogamy is negatively predicted by community size, due to decreasing heterogeneity from endogenous marriages in small settlements, and positively predicted by disparity in productivity between communities which is 'smoothed out' by transfer of community members through exogamous marriages. Support for both predictions is found, which is used to argue that cultural traits like marriage customs are heavily influenced by population-environment relationships.

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  7. Languages spoken in warmer climates will have a higher level of sonority than languages spoken in colder climates (28).Fought, John G. - Sonority and climate in a world sample of languages: findings and prospects, 2004 - 2 Variables

    This article examines the relationship between sonority and climate. Results suggest that languages spoken in warmer climates have higher levels of sonority than languages spoken in colder climates.

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  8. The number of consonant-vowel syllables will be negatively associated with written language (61, 65).Munroe, Robert L. - Cross-cultural correlates of the consonant-vowel (cv) syllable, 1996 - 2 Variables

    This study examines whether language construction, specifically the number of consonant-vowel syllables, will be related to the environment and literacy of a society. Empirical analysis suggests that consonant-vowel syllables are more common in warmer climates and less common in written languages.

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  9. Number of cold months will be negatively associated with sonority (183).Ember, Carol R. - Climate, econiche, and sexuality: influences on sonority in language, 2007 - 2 Variables

    This article focuses on environmental and social explainations for variations in sonority. As expected, results suggest that climate, vegetation density, and sexuality are associated with sonority.

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  10. High elevations will be predictive of ejective phoneme ubiquity in a language cluster.Everett, Caleb - Evidence for direct geographic influences on linguistic sounds: the case of ..., 2013 - 2 Variables

    The author investigates whether geographic factors--namely high elevation or 1500 m+ above sea level (reduced atmospheric pressure)-- impact the production, use, and ubiquity of ejective phonemes in eight non-contiguous language clusters. It is suggested that increased use of ejective phonemes has a physiological benefit: the reduction of water vapor loss via exhaled air. Evidence is presented in support of the hypothesized geographic-phonetic linkage.

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