The relationship between population size and rates of language evolution

Abstract

Languages change over time, and the evolution of languages is similar in many ways to biological evolution. But are all patterns predicted by evolutionary theory also seen in language evolution? One well-known biological pattern is that smaller populations tend to lose genetic diversity, and large populations tend to become more genetically diverse, but the effect of population size on language evolution is highly debated. Do small populations have faster rates of change through greater diffusion of new words, or slower rates of change due to strict language transmission? Do large populations gain words faster through more innovators, or lose faster due to simplification across varied speaker communities? This extract, taken from Welsh’s (2015) Honours thesis, provides the background on the relationship between population size and rate of language change, discusses some of the contrasting hypotheses and methodological techniques and explains the research currently being conducted that attempts to clarify the relationship.