23.06.2022Nour Efrat-Kowalsky and Paul Widmer co-author paper introducing contacTree, a a Bayesian phylogenetic model with horizontal transfer for language evolution

This paper presents contacTrees, a Bayesian phylogenetic model with horizontal transfer for language evolution. The model efficiently infers the phylogenetic tree of a language family and contact events between its clades. A case study confirms that contacTrees reconstructs known contact events in the history of Indo-European and finds known loanwords, demonstrating its practical potential.

Neureiter, N., Ranacher, P., Efrat-Kowalsky, N. et al. Detecting contact in language trees: a Bayesian phylogenetic model with horizontal transfer. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 9, 205 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-022-01211-7