Hi everyone,
This comes from the files over on Language-Origins. It deals with
language and language genes and FOXP2 gene in particular.

Gerry


Here is more on a language gene or genes from National Geographic:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/10/1004_TVlanguagegene.ht
ml

Allow me to quote Monaco of Oxford:

<<"It is important to realize that this is a gene associated with
language, not the gene," said Anthony Monaco of the University of
Oxford, England, who led the genetic aspects of the
study. >>
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To refresh your memory:
FOXP2 gene causes abnormal development of brain structures that
control facial movement and certain verbal abilities.
All mammals have versions of FOXP2 gene. This gene has 715
molecules; a human and a mouse differ by 3 molecules; a human and
chimp differ by 2.

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http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,47273,00.html

Chomsky claims that because all children are born with an innate
knowledge about language, grammatical structure must be biologically
determined.
This would mean that complex human behaviors, like language, can be
tracked back to specific genes

For Pinker, one of the theory's strongest proponents, the discovery
of FOXP2 is the first tantalizing piece of evidence that Chomsky's
theory may be right.

If the FOXP2 gene does play a direct role in brain circuitry, said
Pinker, writing in Nature, this discovery will motivate a broader
search for the genetic causes of cognitive and learning disorders.

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http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/sciences/story/0,12243,774988,0
0.html

Scientists may have found proof that the inherited ability to learn
to speak played a central role in humankind's evolutionary rise to
global dominance over the past 200,000 years.

Researchers in Oxford and Leipzig reported evidence yesterday that
tiny changes to a single gene over 200 millenniums - a blink of an
eye in evolutionary terms - had put a gulf between humans and our
closest animal relatives.

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http://www.nature.com/nsu/011004/011004-16.html

Language problems run in the 'KE' family. Members of several
generations speak "as if each sound is costing them their soul", one
researcher has said. They struggle to control their lips and tongue,
to form words, and to use and understand grammar. "To the naive
listener, their speech is almost unintelligible," says geneticist
Anthony Monaco, of the University of Oxford in England.

Enjoy your reading.

Gerry
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