Phylogenetic inference from cognate word forms
Published 08 April, 2026
Journal of Language Evolution
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@article {GMBH26,
author = {Goldstein, David M. and McCreight, Shawn Hamill and Buchi, \'{E}va and Huelsenbeck, John P.},
title = {Phylogenetic inference from cognate word forms},
journal = {Journal of Language Evolution},
year = 2026,
month = 4,
day = 8,
volume = 11,
pages = {lzag001},
issn = {2058-458X},
doi = {10.1093/jole/lzag001},
abstract = {Linguistic phylogenies are commonly inferred from abstract cognate classifications that encode
relationships among lexemes. Although widespread, this practice has well-recognized limitations: it discards the
phylogenetic signal contained in segmental word forms; restricts the range of evolutionary questions that can be
addressed; and treats cognacy judgments, which are hypotheses, as observed data. We introduce a comparative
framework that addresses these limitations by modeling the evolution of aligned cognate word forms directly. Our
approach adapts the TKF91 model of molecular evolution, originally developed to account for insertion and deletion
events in DNA sequences, to the domain of linguistic data. By operating on segmental strings rather than abstract
character codings, the framework enables phylogenetic inference from observable word forms and supports
quantitative investigation of sound change. We demonstrate its utility through analyses that illuminate patterns
of segmental stability and the evolution of phonological inventories.},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/jole/lzag001},
eprint = {https://academic.oup.com/jole/article-pdf/doi/10.1093/jole/lzag001/67992300/lzag001.pdf}
}
