Interesting to see the slight variations in the results from each different testing company. These will become ever more accurate over time and it will be interesting to see how the regions and accuracy develop
Hopefully. Agree that it’s interesting how there are such different approaches and techniques involved. As ever, I’m looking forward to the next updates :)
As I'm particularly interested in language and usage changes, in terms of the change in terms, who is it that has standardized the terms to be used and does their decision govern all the DNA testing platforms?
Living DNA presents results under "Recent Ancestry" and the categories of Viking, Neanderthal, and Classical ancestry.
FamilyTreeDNA (FTDNA) uses the term myOrigins.
While, as this indicates, there is no universal standard, Debbie Kennett has written a helpful overview that may answer your question. She explores why "ethnicity" is an inaccurate term and discusses changes in terminology in this Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine feature: https://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/tutorials/dna/what-do-dna-test-results-mean.
Emma, thanks for your thoughtful reply. It's prompted me to start thinking in a more structural way about my general take on those estimates. But I just wanted to say that your opening sentence -- "Biogeographical ancestry (BGA) is now the preferred and more accurate term for what DNA testing companies have traditionally called "ethnicity."" -- overstates, in my reading, what Debbie Kennett said in her November 2023 article (the one you linked to). She didn't propose any changes in what the companies called their tests, even acknowledging that the scientific term she mentioned, "biogeographical ancestry" is a bit cumbersome (my term) for use by a commercial business. Like you, I have my DNA results at all of those testing companies and, frankly, take the origin/ethnicity/ancestral results with a grain of salt. As I said in my comment, I'm sensitive to language choices, especially in our current social media environment in which certain people's proclivity to want to dictate which words to use or not use can pop up when and where you least expect it. No offense or criticism to you, but I just wanted to bring it up and I appreciate your response.
Interesting to see the slight variations in the results from each different testing company. These will become ever more accurate over time and it will be interesting to see how the regions and accuracy develop
Hopefully. Agree that it’s interesting how there are such different approaches and techniques involved. As ever, I’m looking forward to the next updates :)
As I'm particularly interested in language and usage changes, in terms of the change in terms, who is it that has standardized the terms to be used and does their decision govern all the DNA testing platforms?
Thanks, Steve. Good to discuss these issues. Interesting to hear everyone’s thoughts.
Thanks, Steve. That is an interesting consideration.
There doesn’t appear to be a standardisation of terms across the DNA testing platforms, as each company has its own terminology.
Ancestry have explained their decision to change the terms from "ethnicity" to Origins or Ancestral Regions in this blog post: https://support.ancestry.com/s/article/Renaming-Ancestral-Regions-and-Journeys?language=en_US.
MyHeritage still refers to Ethnicity Estimate, Ethnicities, and Ancient Origins. But they also use "Genetic Groups" (which break down results into 2,114 geographic regions). More detail here: https://education.myheritage.com/article/genetic-groups-on-myheritage/.
23andMe uses the terms Ancestry Composition, Ancestral Breakdown, and Geographic Ancestry. They explain more in this guide: https://www.23andme.com/en-gb/ancestry-composition-guide/?srsltid=AfmBOorQxv9E0HM7ntV5gu3FQ9MYKL8ytq6aaeNzLpsGl1DyMdd6KL6x.
Living DNA presents results under "Recent Ancestry" and the categories of Viking, Neanderthal, and Classical ancestry.
FamilyTreeDNA (FTDNA) uses the term myOrigins.
While, as this indicates, there is no universal standard, Debbie Kennett has written a helpful overview that may answer your question. She explores why "ethnicity" is an inaccurate term and discusses changes in terminology in this Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine feature: https://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/tutorials/dna/what-do-dna-test-results-mean.
Emma, thanks for your thoughtful reply. It's prompted me to start thinking in a more structural way about my general take on those estimates. But I just wanted to say that your opening sentence -- "Biogeographical ancestry (BGA) is now the preferred and more accurate term for what DNA testing companies have traditionally called "ethnicity."" -- overstates, in my reading, what Debbie Kennett said in her November 2023 article (the one you linked to). She didn't propose any changes in what the companies called their tests, even acknowledging that the scientific term she mentioned, "biogeographical ancestry" is a bit cumbersome (my term) for use by a commercial business. Like you, I have my DNA results at all of those testing companies and, frankly, take the origin/ethnicity/ancestral results with a grain of salt. As I said in my comment, I'm sensitive to language choices, especially in our current social media environment in which certain people's proclivity to want to dictate which words to use or not use can pop up when and where you least expect it. No offense or criticism to you, but I just wanted to bring it up and I appreciate your response.