Merci pour la réponse! Mais je ne vois toujours pas la différence. Arrête-moi si je me trompe mais les deux mécaniques qui compose la théorie de l'évolution sont la sélection naturelle et la dérive génétique.Zwielicht a écrit :Tu constates la différence, Chiwaw ? La théorie de l'évolution n'égale pas la sélection naturelle tout court.
Or je vois très bien comment ces deux mécaniques s'appliquent parfaitement aux langues pour expliquer leurs fluctuations et changements progressifs aux cours des âges. Seulement à un niveau mémétique plutôt que génétique.
Un petit article sur thinkquest:
http://library.thinkquest.org/C004367/la8.shtml
Languages can be seen as just one subset of the larger memeplex of culture. Indeed, languages are memeplexes in and of themselves; though the culture with which they are associated may cease to exist, the language itself may be adapted to a new cultural context. This is almost exactly the case with the language of Latin, which was spoken by the Roman civilization. Though the Roman Empire fell, medieval scholars continued to use it as the language of academia, and it also remained the language of the Roman Catholic services. Through these routes, Latin was preserved over hundreds of years (with a few modifications; Church Latin and Roman Latin are distinct, especially in pronunciation) and is even now studied in many schools. Thus, the memes associated with Latin still propagate, even in modern times.
(...)
Language is also a strong indicator of memetic preservation. If a language, such as many American Indian languages, is moribund (that is, mainly adults speak it), it and the memes associated with it are in danger of becoming extinct. This is indeed true of American Indian languages and cultures; more and more American Indians are deserting their tribal memes in favor of more the successful replicators found in Western society. Indeed, the same is true of many traditional languages and their memeplexes; adherents are increasingly converting to more attractive and competitive Western memes.