{
  "abstract": "Human vocal tracts, like other physical traits, exhibit extensive interindividual variation. However, little is known about how this variation translates into phonetic diversity between speakers, and ultimately, across languages. Here we develop a biocultural model of phonetic evolution, analogous to Russell Lande’s model of multivariate phenotypic evolution. We show that individual vocal tract morphologies and associated articulatory strategies leave consistent acoustic signatures, resulting in a characteristic pattern of phonetic variation within speaker groups that correlates with the pattern observed between groups. Recalling a central tenet of evolutionary biology—that within-group variation feeds between-group diversification—our findings suggest that phonologically similar vowel systems can attain phonetically diverse realizations according to a neutral-like evolutionary process. Our model serves as a null hypothesis for disentangling the biological versus cultural mechanisms underlying phonetic diversification, where deviations from the neutral expectation may indicate culturally mediated language change.\n\nHuman vocal tracts vary extensively between individuals, but how does this translate into phonetic diversity between speakers and languages? This study uses vocal tract imaging to develop a biocultural model of phonetic evolution, helping to disentangle biological versus cultural mechanisms of phonetic diversification.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland",
    "Linguistic Research Infrastructure, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland",
    "Department of Informatics, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland",
    "Center for Climate Physics, Institute for Basic Science, Busan, Republic of Korea"
  ],
  "article_type": "Research Article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 4,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Steven Moran"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Tiena Danner"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Marcia S. Ponce de León"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Christoph P. E. Zollikofer"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/39x3tjggtpmwk.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1371/journal.pbio.3004003",
  "fulltext_url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3004003",
  "id": "39x3tjggtpmwk",
  "issns": [
    "1545-7885",
    "1544-9173"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3004003",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "3316|Language and cultural evolution"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Anatomy/Digestive system/Mouth/Palate"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Bioacoustics"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Anatomy/Digestive system/Mouth/Palate"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Physical sciences/Mathematics/Geometry/Polygons"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Physical sciences/Physics/Acoustics"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Physical sciences/Physics/Acoustics/Bioacoustics"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Social sciences/Linguistics"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Social sciences/Linguistics/Grammar/Phonology"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Social sciences/Linguistics/Phonetics/Vowels"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Social sciences/Linguistics/Speech"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221603678",
  "pdf_url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3004003&type=printable",
  "pmcid": "PMC13660918",
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-01",
  "publisher": "Public Library of Science",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/39x3tjggtpmwk.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:30Z",
      "native_id": "10.1371/journal.pbio.3004003",
      "source": "plos",
      "url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3004003"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:31Z",
      "native_id": "PMC:PMC13660918",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13660918"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "mathematics",
      "origin": "plos:geometry",
      "subfield": "geometry-topology"
    },
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "plos:anatomy",
      "subfield": "physiology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Interindividual vocal tract diversity influences the phonetic diversification of spoken languages",
  "title_text": "Interindividual vocal tract diversity influences the phonetic diversification of spoken languages",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:31Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/39x3tjggtpmwk",
  "venue": "PLOS Biology",
  "versions": []
}