Coevolution of structural variation and optimization in sound systems of human language

Abstract

Evolution of sound systems of human language is an optimization process to improve communicative effectiveness: The intrinsic structures of sound systems are constantly organized with respect to constraints in speech production and perception. However, there lack sufficient quantitative descriptions of this process, large-scale investigations on universal tendencies in sound systems, and explicit evidence on whether demographic and/or geographic factors can influence linguistic typology of sound systems. Here, we proposed two composite parameters, namely structural variation and optimization, to capture linguistic typology of sound systems, vowel systems in particular. Synchronic comparisons based on a large-scale vowel corpus of world languages revealed a universal negative correlation between the two parameters. Phylogenetic comparative analyses identified a correlated evolution of the two, but with distinct evolutionary modes: a gradual evolution of the structural variation and a punctuated equilibrium of the optimization. Mixed-effect models also reported significant effects of speaker population size and longitude on shaping vowel systems of world languages. All these findings elaborate the intrinsic evolutionary mechanism of sound systems, clarify the extrinsic, non-linguistic effects on shaping human sound systems, and quantitatively describe and interpret the evolution and typology of sound systems.