BOSTON, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- A U.S. researcher has determined mutations in a specific gene cannot explain the evolution of human speech.
In recent years, mutations in a gene called Foxp2 have been found to produce specific impairments in language use. That finding, in addition to the observation that chimpanzees have neither the capacity for language nor the Foxp2 mutations, had led researchers to conclude the mutations are directly connected to the development of language.
Professor Robert Berwick of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has determined such a linkage is highly unlikely. "This kind of straightforward connection is just not the way organisms are put together," he said.
Berwick proposes the development of language capacity is better explained through the study of deeper, internal mechanisms. His approach compares the structure of languages with the structure of bird songs.
Bird songs share with all human languages fundamental characteristics related to their metrical structure, Berwick said. He said he believes the sing-song beat characteristic of poetry, music and bird songs may reveal a fundamental aspect of how brains process language.
Berwick presented his views about language development during the weekend in Boston at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
