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      The Contact Diffusion of Linguistic Practices : Reference Frames in Mesoamerica

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          Abstract

          We examine the extent to which practices of language use may be diffused through language contact and areally shared, using data on spatial reference frame use by speakers of eight indigenous languages from in and around the Mesoamerican linguistic area and three varieties of Spanish. Regression models show that the frequency of L2-Spanish use by speakers of the indigenous languages predicts the use of relative reference frames in the L1 even when literacy and education levels are accounted for. A significant difference in frame use between the Mesoamerican and non-Mesoamerican indigenous languages further supports the contact diffusion analysis.

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          Cognitive cladistics and cultural override in Hominid spatial cognition.

          Current approaches to human cognition often take a strong nativist stance based on Western adult performance, backed up where possible by neonate and infant research and almost never by comparative research across the Hominidae. Recent research suggests considerable cross-cultural differences in cognitive strategies, including relational thinking, a domain where infant research is impossible because of lack of cognitive maturation. Here, we apply the same paradigm across children and adults of different cultures and across all nonhuman great ape genera. We find that both child and adult spatial cognition systematically varies with language and culture but that, nevertheless, there is a clear inherited bias for one spatial strategy in the great apes. It is reasonable to conclude, we argue, that language and culture mask the native tendencies in our species. This cladistic approach suggests that the correct perspective on human cognition is neither nativist uniformitarian nor "blank slate" but recognizes the powerful impact that language and culture can have on our shared primate cognitive biases.
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            Ecology, language, and performance on spatial cognitive tasks

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              Geographic and manipulable space in two Tamil linguistic systems

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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Journal
                22105832
                Language Dynamics and Change
                LDC
                Brill (The Netherlands )
                2210-5824
                2210-5832
                2015
                : 5
                : 2
                : 169-201
                Affiliations
                University at Buffalo jb77@ 123456buffalo.edu
                University at Buffalo
                University at Buffalo
                Purdue University
                College of Charleston
                Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
                Smithsonian Institution
                Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa
                Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social—Distrito Federal
                Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro
                Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
                University of Surrey
                Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social—Sureste
                Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
                Article
                10.1163/22105832-00502002
                704309a6-3349-4269-a1fc-77449c686deb
                Copyright 2015 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
                History

                Languages of Asia,General linguistics,Linguistics & Semiotics,Languages of Europe,Levels of linguistic analysis
                spatial cognition,language contact,Mesoamerica,Linguistic Transmission Hypothesis,areality

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