Генетическая лингвистика
Ранее мы уже рассмотрели эволюционную изменчивость звука Ѳ, который с переходом к земледелию положил начало звукам Ф и В.
И вот теперь настало время изучения влияния генов человека на эволюцию человеческих языков. Лишь одна мутация в гене ASPM позволяет предсказать, может ли китаец различить 6 различных тонов произношения, с помощью которых одно китайское слово приобретает 6 различных значений.
A study published last month in Science Advances suggests subtle DNA differences influence a person’s ability to perceive tones. It provides the first tangible evidence for the potential impact of genes in the evolution of language.
In 2007 researchers compared two dozen linguistic features to nearly 1,000 gene variants in 49 populations around the world. They found a significant correlation between the presence of separate variants in the genes ASPM and MCPH1 and an increased likelihood that a group speaks a language that uses pitch to change words’ meaning. Such tonal languages —spoken in China, Southeast Asia and Central Africa, among other regions—make up at least half of the world’s languages.
The researchers’ analysis revealed that only a single variant of the ASPM gene known as TT—one of the two variants identified in the 2007 paper—predicted how well participants could perceive tone. They also found that the majority of the people they tested, about 70 percent, had the TT variant (which consists of two copies of the base thymine), confirming its prominence in the Cantonese-speaking population.
И вот теперь настало время изучения влияния генов человека на эволюцию человеческих языков. Лишь одна мутация в гене ASPM позволяет предсказать, может ли китаец различить 6 различных тонов произношения, с помощью которых одно китайское слово приобретает 6 различных значений.
A study published last month in Science Advances suggests subtle DNA differences influence a person’s ability to perceive tones. It provides the first tangible evidence for the potential impact of genes in the evolution of language.
In 2007 researchers compared two dozen linguistic features to nearly 1,000 gene variants in 49 populations around the world. They found a significant correlation between the presence of separate variants in the genes ASPM and MCPH1 and an increased likelihood that a group speaks a language that uses pitch to change words’ meaning. Such tonal languages —spoken in China, Southeast Asia and Central Africa, among other regions—make up at least half of the world’s languages.
The researchers’ analysis revealed that only a single variant of the ASPM gene known as TT—one of the two variants identified in the 2007 paper—predicted how well participants could perceive tone. They also found that the majority of the people they tested, about 70 percent, had the TT variant (which consists of two copies of the base thymine), confirming its prominence in the Cantonese-speaking population.