Genetics of Language

Abstract

It has long been hypothesised that the human faculty to acquire a language is in some way encoded in our genetic program. However, only recently has genetic evidence been available to begin to substantiate the presumed genetic basis of language. Here we review the first data from molecular genetic studies showing association between gene variants and language disorders (specific language impairment, speech sound disorder, developmental dyslexia), we discuss the biological function of these genes, and we further speculate on the more general question of how the human genome builds a brain that can learn a language. Since the beginning of the cognitive revolution, it has been hypothesised that the human faculty to acquire a language is “innate”, that is, part of our species ’ biological makeup, and, therefore, encoded in some way in our genetic program (Chomsky, 1959). Over the years, a wide variety of arguments have been advanced in support of this view: the universality of

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