Full text loading...
-
Reply to Kassian et al. (2023). Calibrated weighted permutation test detects ancient language connections in the Circumpolar area (Chukotian-Nivkh and Yukaghir-Samoyedic)
-
-
- 17 Nov 2023
- 20 Dec 2023
- 29 Nov 2024
Abstract
Abstract
Kassian et al. (2023) propose a method to detect ancient linguistic relationships by means of a weighted permutation test applied to word lists. The method provides evidence for an ancient historical connection between Chukotko-Kamchatkan languages and Nivkh languages, and between Samoyedic languages and Yukaghir. In this paper, I argue that while the word lists collected by the authors represent a valid dataset for language comparison and are supported by extensive etymological work, their statistical tests constitute a departure from the significance testing framework that has propelled contemporary literature on long-range comparison. I then advance some proposals on how their tests can be integrated and compared with those traditionally accepted in the literature.