A Window on the Genetics of Human Speech: The FOXP2 Gene

Solymosi, Mária Ágnes and Szűcs, Edit and Barabás, Katalin and Mink, Mátyás (2007) A Window on the Genetics of Human Speech: The FOXP2 Gene. MOTHER TONGUE - JOURNAL OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF LANGUAGE IN PREHISTORY, XII. pp. 85-96. ISSN 1087-0326

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Abstract

The development of human speech seems to be a species-specific and genetically determined capacity and is considered an extremely important step in the rise of modern humans, human culture and civilisation. The multidisciplinary efforts of psychiatrists, linguists and human geneticists led to the identification of genetic elements in cohorts of patients, performing speech and language disorders. A form of special language impairment (SLI) has been identified in the KE family in Britain, as a dominant, autosomal trait, affecting the family members in three generations. Molecular genetic studies revealed a mutation in the FOXP2 gene as possible basis of SLI in these patients. The unique, human variant of FOXP2 is shared with Neandertals, indicating a common, ancestral population 3-400,000 years ago. Imprecise imitation of the tutor’s song occurs in young canaries with lowered FoxP2 expression.

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