Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Language and Cognition01:27

Language and Cognition

881
Language serves as a bridge between ideas and communication, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with the world. Psychologists have long debated whether language shapes thought or vice versa. This discussion gained grip with Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf in the 1940s, who proposed that language determines thought, a concept known as linguistic determinism. They suggested that the vocabulary and structure of a language influence how its speakers think and perceive reality.
881
Components of Language01:24

Components of Language

840
Language, whether spoken, signed, or written, consists of specific components: lexicon and grammar. The lexicon is the vocabulary of a language, comprising its words. Grammar is the set of rules used to convey meaning through the lexicon. For example, English grammar adds “-ed” to most verbs to indicate past tense. Words are formed by combining phonemes, which are the basic sound units of a language. Different languages have different sets of phonemes (e.g., “ah” vs.
840
Language Development01:22

Language Development

1.1K
Children master language quickly and with relative ease, supported by both biological predisposition and reinforcement. B. F. Skinner (1957) proposed that language is learned through reinforcement, while Noam Chomsky (1965) argued that language acquisition mechanisms are biologically determined.
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...
1.1K
Threats to Biodiversity01:50

Threats to Biodiversity

21.7K
There have been five major extinction events throughout geological history, resulting in the elimination of biodiversity, followed by a rebound of species that adapted to the new conditions. In the current geological epoch, the Holocene, there is a sixth extinction event in progress. This mass extinction has been attributed to human activities and is thus provisionally called the Anthropocene. In 2019 the human population reached 7.7 billion people and is projected to comprise 10 billion by...
21.7K
Conservation of Declining Populations02:07

Conservation of Declining Populations

11.6K
Conservation of declining population focuses on ways of detecting, diagnosing, and halting a population decline. The approach uses methods to prevent populations from going extinct.
11.6K
Language01:16

Language

784
Language is a unique communication system that uses words and systematic rules to organize and transmit information. Unlike other forms of communication, which may involve postures, movements, odors, or vocalizations, language relies on symbols and grammar. This makes human communication distinct from that of other species, who also communicate but do not use language in the same way humans do.
Corballis and Suddendorf (2007) and Tomasello and Rakoczy (2003) highlight the role of language in...
784

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Interbreeding between farmers and hunter-gatherers along the inland and Mediterranean routes of Neolithic spread in Europe.

Nature communications·2024
Same author

Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza (1922-2018).

Human biology·2021
Same author

Biased dispersal can explain fast human range expansions.

Scientific reports·2020
Same author

Assessing the importance of cultural diffusion in the Bantu spread into southeastern Africa.

PloS one·2019
Same author

Estimating the relative importance of demic and cultural diffusion in the spread of the Neolithic in Scandinavia.

Journal of the Royal Society, Interface·2018
Same author

A serial founder effect model of phonemic diversity based on phonemic loss in low-density populations.

PloS one·2018

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 2, 2026

Foreign Accent and Forensic Speaker Identification in Voice Lineups: The Influence of Acoustic Features Based on Prosody
09:09

Foreign Accent and Forensic Speaker Identification in Voice Lineups: The Influence of Acoustic Features Based on Prosody

Published on: September 27, 2024

1.1K

Language extinction and linguistic fronts.

Neus Isern1, Joaquim Fort

  • 1Quantitative Archaeology Laboratory, Departament de Prehistòria, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, , 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain.

Journal of the Royal Society, Interface
|March 7, 2014
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

A new model explains how socially advantageous languages cause minority language decline. The model accurately predicts the geographical spread of dominant languages and the shrinking influence of minority languages, using Welsh as a case study.

Keywords:
cultural transmissionfrontslanguage competitionlanguage extinctionreaction–diffusion

More Related Videos

Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effect of Induced Emotion on Grammar Learning
05:33

Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effect of Induced Emotion on Grammar Learning

Published on: January 29, 2020

5.8K
Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm
06:07

Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm

Published on: May 15, 2019

8.3K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 2, 2026

Foreign Accent and Forensic Speaker Identification in Voice Lineups: The Influence of Acoustic Features Based on Prosody
09:09

Foreign Accent and Forensic Speaker Identification in Voice Lineups: The Influence of Acoustic Features Based on Prosody

Published on: September 27, 2024

1.1K
Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effect of Induced Emotion on Grammar Learning
05:33

Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effect of Induced Emotion on Grammar Learning

Published on: January 29, 2020

5.8K
Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm
06:07

Exploring Infant Sensitivity to Visual Language using Eye Tracking and the Preferential Looking Paradigm

Published on: May 15, 2019

8.3K

Area of Science:

  • Computational Linguistics
  • Mathematical Modeling
  • Sociolinguistics

Background:

  • Language diversity is endangered by language shift towards socially and economically advantageous languages.
  • This process leads to the decline and extinction of minority languages globally.
  • Understanding the dynamics of language competition is crucial for conservation efforts.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To define a novel mathematical model for language competition.
  • To describe the historical decline of minority languages.
  • To estimate the geographical spread rate of dominant languages.

Main Methods:

  • Developed a non-spatial language competition model.
  • Integrated the model as an interaction term into a reaction-diffusion system.
  • Modeled the spatio-temporal evolution of competing languages.

Main Results:

  • The model quantifies the speed of geographical spread for dominant languages.
  • It demonstrates the resulting shrinkage in the area of minority language dominance.
  • Model predictions show good agreement with the observed retreat of the Welsh language in the UK.

Conclusions:

  • The developed reaction-diffusion model effectively simulates minority language decline.
  • The model provides a framework for estimating language spread dynamics.
  • Empirical validation with Welsh language data supports the model's applicability.