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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "In the biblical story \nof the Tower of Babel,"
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  }, {
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "all of humanity once spoke \na single language"
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  }, {
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    "dDurationMs": 2252,
    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "until they suddenly split\ninto many groups"
    } ]
  }, {
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "unable to understand each other."
    } ]
  }, {
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "We don't really know if \nsuch an original language ever existed,"
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  }, {
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "but we do know that the thousands \nof languages existing today"
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  }, {
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    "dDurationMs": 3229,
    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "can be traced back \nto a much smaller number."
    } ]
  }, {
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "So how did we end up with so many?"
    } ]
  }, {
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "In the early days of human migration,"
    } ]
  }, {
    "tStartMs": 31607,
    "dDurationMs": 2045,
    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "the world was much less populated."
    } ]
  }, {
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "Groups of people that shared\na single language and culture"
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  }, {
    "tStartMs": 36621,
    "dDurationMs": 2105,
    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "often split into smaller tribes,"
    } ]
  }, {
    "tStartMs": 38726,
    "dDurationMs": 3440,
    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "going separate ways in search \nof fresh game and fertile land."
    } ]
  }, {
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    "dDurationMs": 2434,
    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "As they migrated and \nsettled in new places,"
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  }, {
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "they became isolated from one another"
    } ]
  }, {
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    "dDurationMs": 2041,
    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "and developed in different ways."
    } ]
  }, {
    "tStartMs": 48652,
    "dDurationMs": 1823,
    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "Centuries of living \nin different conditions,"
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  }, {
    "tStartMs": 50475,
    "dDurationMs": 1094,
    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "eating different food"
    } ]
  }, {
    "tStartMs": 51569,
    "dDurationMs": 1913,
    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "and encountering different neighbors"
    } ]
  }, {
    "tStartMs": 53482,
    "dDurationMs": 3404,
    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "turned similar dialects with\nvaried pronunciation and vocabulary"
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  }, {
    "tStartMs": 56886,
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "into radically different languages,"
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  }, {
    "tStartMs": 59197,
    "dDurationMs": 3715,
    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "continuing to divide as populations \ngrew and spread out further."
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  }, {
    "tStartMs": 62912,
    "dDurationMs": 3685,
    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "Like genealogists, modern linguists\ntry to map this process"
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  }, {
    "tStartMs": 66597,
    "dDurationMs": 3108,
    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "by tracing multiple languages \nback as far as they can"
    } ]
  }, {
    "tStartMs": 69705,
    "dDurationMs": 2946,
    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "to their common ancestor, \nor protolanguage."
    } ]
  }, {
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    "dDurationMs": 4214,
    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "A group of all languages related \nin this way is called a language family,"
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  }, {
    "tStartMs": 76865,
    "dDurationMs": 3406,
    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "which can contain \nmany branches and sub-families."
    } ]
  }, {
    "tStartMs": 80271,
    "dDurationMs": 4145,
    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "So how do we determine whether \nlanguages are related in the first place?"
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  }, {
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "Similar sounding words don't tell us much."
    } ]
  }, {
    "tStartMs": 86570,
    "dDurationMs": 3292,
    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "They could be false cognates \nor just directly borrowed terms"
    } ]
  }, {
    "tStartMs": 89862,
    "dDurationMs": 2520,
    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "rather than derived from a common root."
    } ]
  }, {
    "tStartMs": 92382,
    "dDurationMs": 2374,
    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "Grammar and syntax are \na more reliable guide,"
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  }, {
    "tStartMs": 94756,
    "dDurationMs": 1707,
    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "as well as basic vocabulary,"
    } ]
  }, {
    "tStartMs": 96463,
    "dDurationMs": 2683,
    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "such as pronouns, \nnumbers or kinship terms,"
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  }, {
    "tStartMs": 99146,
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "that's less likely to be borrowed."
    } ]
  }, {
    "tStartMs": 101504,
    "dDurationMs": 2286,
    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "By systematically comparing these features"
    } ]
  }, {
    "tStartMs": 103790,
    "dDurationMs": 2556,
    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "and looking for regular\npatterns of sound changes"
    } ]
  }, {
    "tStartMs": 106346,
    "dDurationMs": 2210,
    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "and correspondences between languages,"
    } ]
  }, {
    "tStartMs": 108556,
    "dDurationMs": 1945,
    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "linguists can determine relationships,"
    } ]
  }, {
    "tStartMs": 110501,
    "dDurationMs": 2217,
    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "trace specific steps in their evolution"
    } ]
  }, {
    "tStartMs": 112718,
    "dDurationMs": 4005,
    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "and even reconstruct earlier languages\nwith no written records."
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  }, {
    "tStartMs": 116723,
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "Linguistics can even reveal \nother important historical clues,"
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  }, {
    "tStartMs": 120744,
    "dDurationMs": 3939,
    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "such as determining the geographic origins \nand lifestyles of ancient peoples"
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  }, {
    "tStartMs": 124683,
    "dDurationMs": 1859,
    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "based on which of their words were native,"
    } ]
  }, {
    "tStartMs": 126542,
    "dDurationMs": 2219,
    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "and which were borrowed."
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  }, {
    "tStartMs": 128761,
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "There are two main problems linguists face"
    } ]
  }, {
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "when constructing \nthese language family trees."
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  }, {
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "One is that there is \nno clear way of deciding"
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    "dDurationMs": 1863,
    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "where the branches \nat the bottom should end, that is,"
    } ]
  }, {
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "which dialects should be considered \nseparate languages or vice versa."
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  }, {
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "Chinese is classified as a single language,"
    } ]
  }, {
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "but its dialects vary to the point\nof being mutually unintelligible,"
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  }, {
    "tStartMs": 149052,
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "while speakers of Spanish and Portuguese"
    } ]
  }, {
    "tStartMs": 151017,
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "can often understand each other."
    } ]
  }, {
    "tStartMs": 152885,
    "dDurationMs": 2741,
    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "Languages actually spoken by living people"
    } ]
  }, {
    "tStartMs": 155626,
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "do not exist in neatly divided categories,"
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  }, {
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "but tend to transition gradually,"
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  }, {
    "tStartMs": 160111,
    "dDurationMs": 2510,
    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "crossing borders and classifications."
    } ]
  }, {
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "Often the difference between\nlanguages and dialects"
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  }, {
    "tStartMs": 164900,
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "is a matter of changing political \nand national considerations,"
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  }, {
    "tStartMs": 168011,
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "rather than any linguistic features."
    } ]
  }, {
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "This is why the answer to, \n\"How many languages are there?\""
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  }, {
    "tStartMs": 172877,
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "can be anywhere between 3,000 and 8,000,"
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  }, {
    "tStartMs": 176026,
    "dDurationMs": 2054,
    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "depending on who's counting."
    } ]
  }, {
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "The other problem is that \nthe farther we move back in time"
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  }, {
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "towards the top of the tree,"
    } ]
  }, {
    "tStartMs": 182149,
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "the less evidence we have \nabout the languages there."
    } ]
  }, {
    "tStartMs": 185445,
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "The current division \nof major language families"
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  }, {
    "tStartMs": 187499,
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "represents the limit at which \nrelationships can be established"
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  }, {
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "with reasonable certainty,"
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  }, {
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "meaning that languages \nof different families"
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  }, {
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "are presumed not to be related\non any level."
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  }, {
    "tStartMs": 197359,
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "But this may change."
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "While many proposals \nfor higher level relationships --"
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "or super families -- are speculative,"
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  }, {
    "tStartMs": 203706,
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "some have been widely accepted"
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  }, {
    "tStartMs": 205436,
    "dDurationMs": 1579,
    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "and others are being considered,"
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "especially for native languages \nwith small speaker populations"
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "that have not been extensively studied."
    } ]
  }, {
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "We may never be able to determine \nhow language came about,"
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "or whether all human languages \ndid in fact have a common ancestor"
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  }, {
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "scattered through the babel of migration."
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "But the next time you hear \na foreign language, pay attention."
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    "segs": [ {
      "utf8": "It may not be as foreign as you think."
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