Title: A stochastic model of language evolution that incorporates homoplasy and borrowing
Author: Tandy Warnow, Steven N. Evans, Don Ringe, and Luay Nakhleh 
pub: PDF
Url: http://www.stat.berkeley.edu/users/evans/673.pdf
Date: September 2004
Abstract:  We propose a stochastic model of language evolution that
permits  both homoplasy and non-tree evolution (so as to reflect borrowing
between lineages).  We discuss the issues involved in reconstructing
evolutionary histories under the model,  specifically showing that the 
tree component of the model is identifiable, that efficient methods exist
for reconstructing the tree, and that full likelihoods can be calculated 
in linear time. We conclude with a discussion of data selection 
and analysis, and compare our stochastic model for language evolution 
to existing models in molecular evolution.