28.04.2026 Sandra da Silva Oliveira

Population contact can lead to diverse linguistic outcomes that are not always mirrored by demographic change. In this talk, I discuss how genetic data from modern and ancient populations provide a complementary perspective on language replacement and persistence, revealing cases in which language replacement occurs with only minor genetic contributions, as well as instances where past migrations left substantial genetic legacies without corresponding linguistic traces. Together, these findings underscore the importance of integrating genetics into the study of language evolution and human cultural history.