Objective
Beyond its theoretical impact, the rise of molecular biology has brought about great progress also in the historical classification of species and populations. Sokal (1988) and Cavalli Sforza et. al. (1988, 1994) advocated a correspondence between some proposed language families and classical genetic markers, i.e. between biological evolution and transmission of cultural traits (languages), in agreement with Darwin’s (1859) prediction of an eventual isomorphy between trees of languages and populations. Their conclusions were variously criticised, and are especially undermined by the weakness of available language classification methods, mainly based on lexical (in a broad sense) material: these are either too narrow in scope (classical method) or probabilistically unreliable (Greenberg’s mass comparison) to provide solid long-range taxonomies to be matched against those of geneticists. We will address such issues with a radically new comparative method (Longobardi and Guardiano 2009) based entirely on grammatical evidence and on recent theoretical advances in formal and typological linguistics. The method ensures unprecedented standards of testability/replicability and can measure linguistic distances between even remote populations. Linguists and biologists will for the first time jointly select the populations most significant from either perspective for language/gene sampling. We will also adopt the newest powerful genetic tools of the last decade, both in terms of data (genome-wide studies of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms, including uniparentally transmitted markers of the Y chromosome and of mitochondrial DNA) and of biostatistical methods to describe DNA diversity and interpret its relationships to linguistic diversity.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- humanities languages and literature general language studies
- humanities languages and literature linguistics
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics DNA
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics nucleotides
- natural sciences biological sciences molecular biology
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
ERC-2011-ADG_20110406
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Host institution
YO10 5DD YORK NORTH YORKSHIRE
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.