River density and landscape roughness are universal determinants of linguistic diversity

Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences • Vol/Iss. 281(1784) • The Royal Society • • Published In • Pages: 1-9 •
By Axelsen, Jacob Bock, Manrubia, Susanna

Hypothesis

Linguistic diversity will be predicted by some of 14 environmental variables across continental regions universally (2).

Note

Only landscape roughness and density of river systems predict language diversity across all continental regions. In general, variation in environmental variables predicts more language diversity in African and extended Asian than in American and European continental regions.

Test

Test NameSupportSignificanceCoefficientTail
Bayesian analysisSupportedp < 0.05UNKNOWNUNKNOWN

Variables

Variable NameVariable Type OCM Term(s)
Population DensityIndependentPopulation
Linguistic diversityDependentLinguistic Identification
RugosityIndependentTopography And Geology
Average ChlorophyllIndependentFlora
Minimum ChlorophyllIndependentFlora
Maximum ChlorophyllIndependentFlora
Average Monthly PrecipitationIndependentClimate
Minimum Monthly PrecipitationIndependentClimate
Maximum Monthly PrecipitationIndependentClimate
Average Monthly TemperatureIndependentClimate
Minimum Monthly TemperatureIndependentClimate
Maximum Monthly TemperatureIndependentClimate
AltitudeIndependentTopography And Geology
Density of RiversIndependentLocation, Topography And Geology
Distance to LakesIndependentLocation, Topography And Geology