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Published online 31 January 2008 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2008.547
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Languages divide, then bloom
Linguistic evolution is marked by "punctuational bursts".
Languages show periodic bursts of evolution, in which many new words blossom, according to new research that treats linguistic evolution like its biological counterpart. The research suggests that new words evolve slowly most of the time, but with spurts of diversification when two languages divide.
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