[Ads-l] Study of Cantonese lexical tone shows language evolution possibly linked to genes

[Mark Mandel]

https://phys.org/news/2020-05-cantonese-lexical-tone-language-evolution.html


*Study of Cantonese lexical tone shows language evolution possibly linked
to genes*

May 28, 2020, Chinese University of Hong Kong
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A research group led by Professor Patrick Chun Man Wong, Stanley Ho
Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience of the Department of Linguistics and
Modern Languages, recruited more than 400 native speakers of Cantonese for
a study. The results show that participants with a specific genotype of the
ASPM gene are better at perceiving lexical tone in Cantonese, and those
without it may improve their abilities through musical training. The
research offers clear evidence for the hypothesis that subtle differences
in genetic makeup may form the basis of languages people speak in different
regions of the world. In this case, because most Chinese people have an
ASPM genotype that favors lexical tone processing, they adopted lexical
tone in their language. The findings were recently published in the journal
Science Advances.


--MAM

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