Written by Can you differentiate Mandarin from French or Italian?
Of course, you can.
The sounds of each of these languages are very different, from hard or soft consonants to long or short vowels.
Due to the dynamic sounds of each mother tongue, you can see the adaptation of different vocal tracts across cultures.
These adaptations have developed across generations according to the languages spoken in countries around the world.
We discussed gene-culture coevolution last week in relation to the human species and speech.
Now, let’s talk about how speech and language have evolved our genetics across cultures.
Physiological Traits Adapt to Language
Speech-related physiological adaptations vary across the human species according to the language spoken.
Some languages, like German or Arabic, require deep guttural sounds due to the harsh consonants.
Others, like Spanish, require speakers to roll their r’s.
One of the ways in which this presents in our physiology was reported by Discover Magazine.
Researchers found that the roof of the mouth differs across cultures, according to how vowel sounds are pronounced.
Furthermore, these anatomical variations evolve upon each generation, creating an evolution in the language itself and the sounds of speech.
The study’s author, Linguistics Expert Dan Dediu, says,
“Even small variations in the shape of our vocal tract may affect the way we speak, and this may even be amplified — across generations — to the level of differences between dialects and languages.”
The Study
How did researchers discern this change?
The study looked at over 100 people from several ethnolinguistic groups in Europe, North America, China, and across India.
MRI scans were taken of the hard palate of each participant.
Using the scans and machine learning, computer models formed a picture into the future of the hard palate and the sounds it might produce.
Five commonly used vowel sounds – the “uh” in sofa,” the “ah” in “hot,” the “oo” in “boot,” the “a” in “bat,” and the long “e” in “feet” – were plugged into the computer model.
A second generation, mimicking the sounds from the first, showed the amplified pronunciation of each sound – as did 50 generational models after it.
Though the change in the shape of the hard palate over time only impacted pronunciation slightly each generation, the change in the vowel sounds after 50 generations was much more pronounced.
The researchers write that,
“besides culture and environment, quantitative biological variation can be amplified, also influencing language.”
This research begs the question: what will our languages sound like in 50 generations…and how did they sound 50 generations ago?
Success Across Cultures 