Challenges to origin of languages

A team of international researchers has shed new light on the origins of some of the most widely spoken languages in the world. The results raise questions about existing views of their relationships.
Three billion people today speak a language that is part of the Indo-European family of languages, spanning Europe as well as central, western and south Asia. But the reason why these languages – such as English, Spanish, Russian and Hindi – are related has been a source of some argument for more than 200 years.
New research published in Nature and led by researchers at the Harvard Medical School and a University of Adelaide ancient-DNA team of experts, shows that at least some of the Indo-European languages spoken in Europe were likely the result of a massive migration from eastern Russia.
“This new study is the biggest of its kind so far and has helped to improve our understanding of the linguistic impact of Stone Age migration," says co-author Dr Wolfgang Haak, from Adelaide's Australian Centre for Ancient DNA. More...