The 8000-Year-Old Origins of English w/ Professor Quentin Atkinson: 2 August, 2023

A new study using biological evolution models to trace the origins of the English language has made some remarkable discoveries. 

The study used a list of known words in different languages to find a common ancestor for these languages, and incorporated divergence dating so that researchers could estimate when each language diverged from the root language. 

The ancient language in which English has its origins is called Proto-Indo-European and dates back 8,000 years ago. It has been geographically isolated, and found to be the root of many modern day languages as well as English. 

Arno spoke with Professor Quentin Atkinson, a Professor in Psychology at the University of Auckland, to find out more about the study. Arno started our interview by asking about the methodology of the study.