Re: [tied] Glen, regarding...

As Stephen Pinker wrote in The Language Instinct, "People carry
their languages in their brains and their genes in their gonads..."
which for all but the most unlucky stay permanently linked to each
other by virtue of both being parts of the body. If members of
certain populations tend to speak a certain way, this is mostly due
to the influence of other members of that population. Genes do
control for the shape and dimensions of the speech apparatus, and
since the exact genetic combination is unique to each person, no two
people sound exactly alike. Basic *rules* of pronunciation seem to
be learned in childhood and depend primarily on input from one's
peer group (surprisingly, it depends little on the parents). That's
why Arnold Schwarzenegger's kids don't speak in a heavy Austrian
accent, and why I speak like a Midwesterner even though my father is
from Boston.

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "ehlsmith" <ehlsmith@...> wrote:
> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Patrick C. Ryan" <proto-
> language@...> wrote:
> .....
> > My own view is, as a hypothesis, to seek to explain phonological
> changes are a result of changing gene frequencies in the
population
> speaking the language.
>
> and....
>
> > <PCR> In my opinion, "social change" can best be understood as
> reflecting changes in genetic composition. I have no doubt that
when,
> in certain US states, a certain critical mass of Latinos is
achieved,
> power will shift to this group, and changes in the English
phonology
> there will ensue, although national communications media will slow
> and somewhat inhibit them.
>
> Your scenario may quite possibly be true- but do you actually
believe
> that genetics would have anything to do with it?! I find it hard
to
> come up with a more classic example to demonstrate a correlation
> without causation. Certainly there are differences between the two
> populations in terms of both genetics and pronunciation, but
newborn
> infants from one population brought up by adoptive parents of the
> other population will speak like their adoptive parents, not their
> genetic parents. You might as well propose that phonological
changes
> are caused by diet or religion, or what sports one follows.
>
> Ned Smith