Re: [tied] Reconstructing a future language

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, Piotr Gasiorowski
<piotr.gasiorowski@...> wrote:

>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <tgpedersen@...>
> To: <cybalist@yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Monday, February 03, 2003 10:23 AM
> Subject: Re: [tied] Reconstructing a future language
>
>
>
> > In some article I just read (I can find it if anyone wants the
> > reference) they used an algorithm to compute "distances" between

IE

> > languages and to cluster them. Invariably, reconstructed PIE

ended up

> > in the Romance cluster. When they removed the Romance languages,

PIE

> > ended up in a cluster with Greek. So much for the impartality of

PIE

> > reconstruction.
>
> So much for the thoughtless application of algorithms. Using

a "distance" matrix is hardly a reliable approach to reconstructing a
phylogeny.

>
> Piotr

Explain.

Torsten