Do language change rates depend on population size?

TL;DR

This study investigates whether language change rates are influenced by population size, using enhanced simulations and a comprehensive empirical dataset, finding a generally weak dependence with some variability.

Contribution

It replicates and extends previous research by employing a more detailed simulation model and a richer dataset to examine the relationship between population size and language change.

Findings

Simulations show variable dependence on population size.

Empirical data indicates a generally weak dependence.

Results depend on model parameters and data specifics.

Abstract

An earlier study (Nettle 1999b) concluded, based on computer simulations and some inferences from empirical data, that languages will change the more slowly the larger the population gets. We replicate this study using a more complete language model for simulations (the Schulze model combined with a Barabasi-Albert net- work) and a richer empirical dataset (the World Atlas of Language Structures edited by Haspelmath et al. 2005). Our simulations show either a weak or stronger dependence of language change on population sizes depending on the parameter settings, and empirical data, like some of the simulations, show a weak dependence.