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

Language01:16

Language

964
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...
964
Regional Terms01:12

Regional Terms

16.4K
Regional terms describe anatomy by dividing the body parts into different regions that contain structures involved in contributing similar functions. Using these terms helps increase the accurate description and identification of the particular region of interest or region affected by the disease.
Primarily, the human body has two major regions, the axial and appendicular regions. The axial region comprises regions from the head to the abdomen and makes up the central body axis. In contrast,...
16.4K
Components of Language01:24

Components of Language

849
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.
849
Language Development01:22

Language Development

994
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...
994
Adaptations that Reduce Water Loss01:57

Adaptations that Reduce Water Loss

28.3K
Though evaporation from plant leaves drives transpiration, it also results in loss of water. Because water is critical for photosynthetic reactions and other cellular processes, evolutionary pressures on plants in different environments have driven the acquisition of adaptations that reduce water loss.
28.3K
Responses to Drought and Flooding02:41

Responses to Drought and Flooding

12.2K
Water plays a significant role in the life cycle of plants. However, insufficient or excess of water can be detrimental and pose a serious threat to plants.
12.2K

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

The Phoneme as a Cognitive Tool.

Topics in cognitive science·2025
Same author

Aerosols, airflow, and more: examining the interaction of speech and the physical environment.

Frontiers in psychology·2023
Same author

The sounds of prehistoric speech.

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences·2021
Same author

Speech adapts to differences in dentition within and across populations.

Scientific reports·2021
Same author

Grammatical number is sufficiently explained by communicative needs.

Cognitive neuropsychology·2020
Same author

Is native quantitative thought concretized in linguistically privileged ways? A look at the global picture.

Cognitive neuropsychology·2019
Same journal

From silenced shock to strategic resilience: a longitudinal qualitative study of nurse residents' trajectory in coping with patient verbal abuse.

Frontiers in psychology·2026
Same journal

Validation of the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) for forest firefighters: implications for human-technology interaction and occupational safety in the future of work.

Frontiers in psychology·2026
Same journal

Development and validation of the football emotion scale for Chinese youth players: a psychometric study.

Frontiers in psychology·2026
Same journal

From online engagement to offline action: how social media environmental engagement shapes university students' pro-environmental citizenship through intrinsic motivation and personal norms.

Frontiers in psychology·2026
Same journal

The multidimensional inventory of religious/spiritual wellbeing in Hungarian language: psychometric properties and initial validation.

Frontiers in psychology·2026
Same journal

Effects of occupational factors on depression in Chinese veterans: a fsQCA study based on 2022 CFPS data.

Frontiers in psychology·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 24, 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

926

Languages in Drier Climates Use Fewer Vowels.

Caleb Everett1

  • 1Department of Anthropology, University of Miami, Coral GablesFL, United States.

Frontiers in Psychology
|August 12, 2017
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Languages may adapt to their environment, with drier climates potentially leading to less vowel use. This study analyzed over 4000 languages, finding a link between ambient humidity and vowel reliance.

Keywords:
adaptationenvironmentevolutionlanguagephoneticspsychological

More Related Videos

Digital Handwriting Analysis of Characters in Chinese Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment
05:58

Digital Handwriting Analysis of Characters in Chinese Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment

Published on: March 11, 2021

5.2K
Lexical Decision Task for Studying Written Word Recognition in Adults with and without Dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment
06:48

Lexical Decision Task for Studying Written Word Recognition in Adults with and without Dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment

Published on: June 25, 2019

9.9K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Feb 24, 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

926
Digital Handwriting Analysis of Characters in Chinese Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment
05:58

Digital Handwriting Analysis of Characters in Chinese Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment

Published on: March 11, 2021

5.2K
Lexical Decision Task for Studying Written Word Recognition in Adults with and without Dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment
06:48

Lexical Decision Task for Studying Written Word Recognition in Adults with and without Dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment

Published on: June 25, 2019

9.9K

Area of Science:

  • Linguistic Ecology
  • Phonetics
  • Environmental Linguistics

Background:

  • Previous research suggests environmental factors influence language, with some studies noting more consonants in specific ecologies.
  • Existing work indicates a link between aridity and language tonality.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between ambient humidity and vowel usage in languages.
  • To determine if environmental factors, specifically humidity, influence linguistic features.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of vowel usage rates across over 4000 language varieties.
  • Utilizing continuous linguistic and ecological variables for analysis.
  • Controlling for linguistic phylogeny and language contact.

Main Results:

  • A positive association was found between ambient humidity and a language's reliance on vowels.
  • Reduced ambient humidity correlates with decreased reliance on vowels compared to consonants.
  • Findings align with experimental data on laryngeal behavior in dry air.

Conclusions:

  • Ecological factors, such as ambient air characteristics, may subtly influence language evolution.
  • The study provides evidence for environmental effects on language, complementing prior research.
  • Further research is needed to confirm causality between air properties and language development.