  This paper presents the results of the application of a bit-string model of
languages (Schulze and Stauffer 2005) to problems of taxonomic patterns. The
questions addressed include the following: (1) Which parameters are minimally
ne eded for the development of a taxonomic dynamics leading to the type of
distribution of language family sizes currently attested (as measured in the i
number of languages per family), which appears to be a power-law? (2) How may
such a model be coupled with one of the dynamics of speaker populations leading
to the type of language size seen today, which appears to follow a log-normal
distribution?
