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[Elizabeth Bates]

I just thought I would include, for the edification of all on this
list, a quote that I just read from this week's Newsweek Magazine,
from our very own Fritz Newmeyer.  Anyone care to add this tidbit
to the running discussion? -liz bates


The new millennium will also bring the discovery of genes for
specialized bits of language.  Already, researchers have found
a genetic mutation that shows up in an inability to put suffixes
onto words: people who carry the gene cannot add "-s" or "-er"
or _ed" to words, explains [linguistic Fritz] Newmeyer [of the
University of Washington].  "In the next century we will locate
other aspects of language in the genes," he believes.  Could a gene
for the subjunctive be far behind?  Next time you don't know whether
it's "if she was" or "if she were," you'll be able to blame your DNA.

from Sharon Begley, "Uncovering secrets, big and small".  In Beyond 2000:
America in the 21st Century.  Newsweek, January 17, 1997, pp 63-64.