In the new study, Dunn and Gray's team created evolutionary trees for eight word-order features in humanity's best-described language groups -- Austronesian, Indo-European, Bantu and Uto-Aztecan.

It may surprise you to learn that language is not just a tool for communication—it’s a living record of our evolution. Scientists believe that by studying the structure and development of ...

Meanwhile, the documented influence of French sign language within the Western European language tree is backed up by France’s help in expanding Deaf education schools during the 18th century.

A new study suggests the unique human version of the NOVA1 protein developed after our ancestors split from Neanderthals on the evolutionary tree, and it might have given us a competitive edge ...

Douglas and senior scientist Peter Wills applied the model to cephalopods (including octopuses, squids, cuttlefish, and vampire squids), as well as to the evolution of Indo-European languages, and ...

The 1.6 million-year-old discovery that changes what we know about human evolution. New research suggests language is eight times older than previously thought . David Keys.