Saturday, January 24, 2009

Language driven by culture, not biology


Filed under: Historical linguistics

Language in humans has evolved culturally rather than genetically, according to a study by UCL (University College London) and US researchers. By modelling the ways in which genes for language might have evolved alongside language itself, the study showed that genetic adaptation to language would be highly unlikely, as cultural conventions change much more rapidly than genes. Thus, the biological machinery upon which human language is built appears to predate the emergence of language. …

Full article: Eurekalert


See also:

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>  Babies Use Rhythms to Adapt to Their Culture, Study Hints
>  Songbird study provides concrete measure of biology’s impact on culture
>  Ear implant success sparks culture war
>  Expert slams plan to ‘invent’ Gaelic words

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