Computational phylogenetics reveal histories of sign languages. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38301028/)

These scientists wanted to learn more about how different sign languages are related to each other. Sign languages are languages that are used by deaf people to communicate using their hands and body movements. However, it can be difficult to study the history and changes of sign languages because there is not a lot of information available.

So, the scientists came up with a clever idea. They used a special computer program to analyze the signs used in 19 different sign languages from all around the world. They looked at how similar or different the signs were in each language.

By comparing the signs, the scientists were able to create a kind of family tree for the sign languages. Just like how people have family trees to show how they are related to their relatives, the scientists made a family tree to show how the sign languages are related to each other.

The interesting thing is that the results of this study sometimes matched what we already knew about the history of sign languages, but sometimes it showed that what we thought was true might not be entirely correct. This means that the computer program was able to find connections between sign languages that we didn't know about before.

The scientists also found that the relationships between sign languages were not just based on where they are spoken, but also on the history and politics of the countries where the languages developed.

Overall, this study helped us understand more about how sign languages are related to each other and how they have changed over time. It shows us that using computers and special programs can help scientists learn new things about languages that we may not have known otherwise.

Abner N., Clarte G., Geraci C., Ryder RJ., Mertz J., Salgat A., Yu S. Computational phylogenetics reveal histories of sign languages. Science. 2024 Feb 2;383(6682):519-523. doi: 10.1126/science.add7766. Epub 2024 Feb 1.