Some structural aspects of language, such as linguistic tone (the usage of voice pitch to convey lexical and grammatical distinctions as in, for example, Chinese and Yoruba) might be under genetic biasing. Dr. Dan Dediu and Prof. D. Robert Ladd have suggested (Dediu & Ladd, 2007) that the geographical distribution of tone languages is influenced by the population frequency of the "derived" alleles of two human genes involved in brain development, ASPM and Microcephalin.

This project aims to better understand the mechanisms through which genes can affect language change across generations and to identify new cases of such genetic biases. We are using a variety of approaches such as complex computer models of genetic influences on language change and evolution, state-of-the-art Bayesian phylogenetic methods inspired from evolutionary biology, the investigation of associations between genes and neuro-cognitive endophenotypes, and experimental approaches to individual differences in language and speech.

The project is highly collaborative in nature and crosses the departmental and disciplinary borders creating dialogue with, for example, the Evolutionary Processes in Language and Culture independent research group, the Language and Cognition department, and the Neurobiology of Language department, to mention just a few.