Cadernos de Linguística is pleased to share that the article “Exploring variation and change in the distant past: /s/-variation and its implications for the reconstruction of Ancient Babylonian”, by Rodrigo Hernáiz, has received the Abralin Award for Best Article. The result was announced by ABRALIN during InterAb 14, as part of the second edition of the award.
The Abralin Award was created to recognize outstanding contributions to Linguistics and to encourage the production, circulation, and accessibility of scientific knowledge across different areas of activity. In the Best Article category, the award distinguishes papers published in ABRALIN’s journals — Revista da Abralin and Cadernos de Linguística. The competition is therefore broad and highly demanding, bringing together work from different topics, approaches, and research traditions.
The selection of Rodrigo Hernáiz’s article reflects the strength of a study that combines originality, analytical rigor, and intellectual ambition. By examining variation in the written representation of /s/ in Ancient Babylonian, the paper shows that this variation is systematic rather than random. It presents statistical correlations with geographical and temporal factors, points to a historical process of diffusion, and offers important evidence for the linguistic reconstruction of one of the world’s oldest written traditions.
Another striking feature of the article is its ability to connect questions traditionally associated with Historical Linguistics and Sociolinguistics with contemporary quantitative methods. Drawing on documentation from the distant past, the study interprets the data through hypotheses about spatial diffusion and language change and shows how computational tools can increase analytical precision. The result is an innovative and methodologically robust contribution whose impact extends beyond its specific object of study.
This award is a source of pride for Cadernos de Linguística. It confirms the quality of the work published by the journal and reaffirms its commitment to disseminating research that expands the field’s horizons, renews scholarly inquiry, and strengthens the circulation of linguistic knowledge. We warmly congratulate Rodrigo Hernáiz on this important achievement and celebrate the fact that the Abralin Award for Best Article has been given to a paper published in Cadernos de Linguística.
