In this commentary, we address some general questions regarding the use of statistical methods for the purposes of correlating linguistic with nonlinguistic features, as well as engage some specific claims in the position article by Everett et al. (2016). In the process, we attempt to arrive at possible causes for misunderstandings among researchers coming from different disciplines. This short piece is not meant to be a thorough review of the article, but simply to focus on those areas where we can provide some productive feedback. First, we do believe that it is an empirical question whether or not certain linguistic features are influenced by external forces, and one should indeed pursue such research questions using statistical methods. As pointed out by Ladd et al. (2015), correlational studies of this kind can help one choose among competing hypotheses. While it is true that finding a correlation does not necessarily establish causation, it is also true that having discovered a correlation is better than having none. In addition, understanding how human language evolved will require such approaches. Perhaps part of the reason why some linguists seem skeptical about the findings of this kind has to do with what we can call a problem of proportion. Isolated studies like this, without being embedded in a comprehensive framework, may suggest to the reader, even when this is not claimed by the author(s), that a linguistic phenomenon can be completely reduced to a nonlinguistic factor. What would help would be to embed these findings into a larger, more comprehensive framework about change in phonological systems, as well as how these systems evolve. Against the background of such a comprehensive framework, one can then try to determine how much of a role is played by climate as opposed to other factors, such as language-internal …

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评论：超越语气和气候：扩大框架

在这篇评论中，我们解决了一些关于使用统计方法将语言与非语言特征相关联的一般问题，并在 Everett 等人的立场文章中提出了一些具体主张。(2016)。在此过程中，我们试图找出不同学科的研究人员之间产生误解的可能原因。这篇短文并不意味着对文章进行彻底审查，而只是关注我们可以提供一些富有成效的反馈的那些领域。首先，我们确实认为某些语言特征是否受外力影响是一个经验问题，确实应该使用统计方法来研究此类研究问题。正如 Ladd 等人指出的那样。(2015), 这种相关性研究可以帮助人们在相互竞争的假设中做出选择。虽然找到相关性并不一定会建立因果关系，但发现相关性比没有相关性强也是事实。此外，理解人类语言如何进化也需要这样的方法。一些语言学家似乎对此类发现持怀疑态度的部分原因可能与我们所谓的比例问题有关。像这样的孤立研究，没有嵌入到一个综合框架中，可能会向读者暗示，即使作者没有声明这一点，语言现象也可以完全归结为非语言因素。将这些发现嵌入到一个更大、更全面的语音系统变化框架中会有所帮助，以及这些系统如何发展。在这样一个综合框架的背景下，人们可以尝试确定气候与其他因素（例如语言内部……