BEASTling

BEASTling converts human-readable linguistic configuration files into BEAST 2 XML to prepare Bayesian phylogenetic analyses of linguistic data.

Key Features:

• Configuration-to-XML conversion: Transforms human-readable linguistic configuration files into BEAST 2 XML for specifying Bayesian phylogenetic analyses.
• Glottolog integration and monophyly constraints: Leverages Creative Commons-licensed Glottolog data to filter datasets by recognized language families and to impose monophyly constraints consistent with Glottolog classifications.
• Geographic and phylogeographic data assignment: Assigns geographic location data to languages to support phylogeographic analyses of spatial distribution and migration.
• Support for the Cross-Linguistic Linked Data Format (CLDF): Ingests CLDF-formatted cross-linguistic datasets for incorporation into Bayesian analyses.

Scientific Applications:

• Historical linguistics: Preparing and running Bayesian phylogenetic analyses to infer language trees and test hypotheses about language relationships.
• Phylogeography: Analyzing spatial patterns and historical migration by integrating language-level geographic data into phylogenetic models.
• Comparative linguistics using CLDF: Incorporating CLDF datasets to perform comparative and cross-linguistic analyses within a Bayesian framework.
• Constraint-based phylogenetic inference: Enforcing Glottolog-derived monophyly constraints to assess compatibility between inferred trees and established classifications.

Methodology:

Transforms configuration files into BEAST 2 XML; integrates Creative Commons-licensed Glottolog data to filter by language family and impose monophyly constraints; assigns geographic location data to languages; and accepts CLDF-formatted datasets.