1. Something in my brain is broken. I'm excited about an interactive IPA chart.
2. Another article on the possible link between a Siberian family of languages and Na-Dene (Native American) languages.
Vajda said his research puts linguistics on the same stage as archaeology, anthropology, and genetics when it comes to studying the history of humans in North Asia and North America.
I'm not entirely comfortable with that characterization. It's been tried before, with poor results. And language change is by no means regular or consistent, so it makes an unreliable tool for determining anything time-related. But they might have something here. I doubt I'm informed enough to judge one way or another.
3. First, the town is named Effingham. That's always been good for a cheap laugh in my book.
Secondly, re: skunks as domestic pets:
“Once you have the animal descented, which is a nonevasive procedure done early in the animal’s life, having one is a complete joy. It’s like a cross between a house cat and a calm monkey[.]”
Just what everyone wants in their home. A calm monkey.
4. This is sad, mostly because my parents have Papillons.
But the hawk story sounds made up to me. Its much more likely some random passer-by snatched the dog. Or the dog daycare center did something shady with the dog and had to concoct a cover story. Still, it's an amusing image.
5. I don't know if this is lazy/sloppy journalism or bad linguistics/anthropology:
since body art is a form of communication, this implies that the Neanderthals could speak
Communication does not imply speech. Communication implies...communication. And possibly language, but not necessarily speech.
d'Errico, who presented his work on 15 March at the Seventh Evolution of Language Conference in Barcelona, Spain.
Anyone wanna pay my way to go to next year's conference?
"The archaeological record does not show that they ever attained the cultural level of the humans who could talk as we do," says Phillip Lieberman, a linguist at Brown University, Rhode Island, US.
"Neanderthals possessed language, but their linguistic and cognitive ability was inferior to the humans who replaced them," he says.
Hey! It's Lieberman! I took his evolution of language class. We watched a video of him talking weird on Mt. Everest. Anyway. He, or the article's author, forgot to mention that Neanderthals also probably lacked the anatomy necessary for speech.
2. Another article on the possible link between a Siberian family of languages and Na-Dene (Native American) languages.
Vajda said his research puts linguistics on the same stage as archaeology, anthropology, and genetics when it comes to studying the history of humans in North Asia and North America.
I'm not entirely comfortable with that characterization. It's been tried before, with poor results. And language change is by no means regular or consistent, so it makes an unreliable tool for determining anything time-related. But they might have something here. I doubt I'm informed enough to judge one way or another.
3. First, the town is named Effingham. That's always been good for a cheap laugh in my book.
Secondly, re: skunks as domestic pets:
“Once you have the animal descented, which is a nonevasive procedure done early in the animal’s life, having one is a complete joy. It’s like a cross between a house cat and a calm monkey[.]”
Just what everyone wants in their home. A calm monkey.
4. This is sad, mostly because my parents have Papillons.
But the hawk story sounds made up to me. Its much more likely some random passer-by snatched the dog. Or the dog daycare center did something shady with the dog and had to concoct a cover story. Still, it's an amusing image.
5. I don't know if this is lazy/sloppy journalism or bad linguistics/anthropology:
since body art is a form of communication, this implies that the Neanderthals could speak
Communication does not imply speech. Communication implies...communication. And possibly language, but not necessarily speech.
d'Errico, who presented his work on 15 March at the Seventh Evolution of Language Conference in Barcelona, Spain.
Anyone wanna pay my way to go to next year's conference?
"The archaeological record does not show that they ever attained the cultural level of the humans who could talk as we do," says Phillip Lieberman, a linguist at Brown University, Rhode Island, US.
"Neanderthals possessed language, but their linguistic and cognitive ability was inferior to the humans who replaced them," he says.
Hey! It's Lieberman! I took his evolution of language class. We watched a video of him talking weird on Mt. Everest. Anyway. He, or the article's author, forgot to mention that Neanderthals also probably lacked the anatomy necessary for speech.
Labels: animals, anthropology, archaeology, language
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