• DOI:10.1017/S0007087400030740
• Corpus ID: 144553417

Evolutionary ideas and ‘empirical’ methods: the analogy between language and species in works by Lyell and Schleicher

@article{Taub1993EvolutionaryIA,
  title={Evolutionary ideas and ‘empirical’ methods: the analogy between language and species in works by Lyell and Schleicher},
  author={Liba Chaia Taub},
  journal={The British Journal for the History of Science},
  year={1993},
  volume={26},
  pages={171 - 193}
}

• L. Taub
• Published 1 June 1993
• Psychology
• The British Journal for the History of Science

In the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin (1809–82) briefly drew an analogy between languages and species, suggesting that the genealogical relationships between languages provide a model for discussing the descent and modification of species. Further, he suggested that just as languages often contain some vestige of earlier speech, for example silent, unpronounced letters, so the rudimentary organs of animals can provide clues about genealogy and descent.