The Impact of Climate on Language Volume and Evolution Revealed

A new study published in PNAS Nexus suggests that the average ambient temperature of a region influences the loudness of certain speech sounds in languages. The study found that languages in warmer regions tend to be louder than those in colder regions. Factors such as the dryness of cold air and warm air's absorption of high-frequency energy could favor a higher volume of speech sounds in warmer climates. However, there are exceptions to this trend, indicating that the effects of temperature on sonority develop slowly over centuries or even millennia. The study challenges the assumption that linguistic structures are self-contained and not influenced by the environment.