CAUSAL CORRELATIONS BETWEEN GENES AND LINGUISTIC FEATURES — THE MECHANISM OF GRADUALLANGUAGE EVOLUTION

摘要

The causal correlations between human genetic variants and linguistic (typological) feature scould represent the mechanism required for gradual, accretionary models of language evolution. The causal link is mediated by the process of cultural transmission of language across generations in a population of genetically biased individuals. The particular case ofTone, ASPM and Microcephalin is discussed as an illustration. It is proposed that this typeof genetically-influenced linguistic bias, coupled with a fundamental role for genetic and linguistic diversities, provides a better explanation for the evolution of language and linguistic universals.