It’s All in the Genes: Explaining a Language Gender Gap

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In general, the consensus is that female human beings tend to talk more than their male counterparts. At least, the theory goes, women use more words. In the past, this subject has been discussed and studied in Sociology, Biology, and Anthropology. Now, it is being studied more closely in Neuroscience. More specific evidence of this gender gap has recently been reported from the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

The language gender gap is apparently caused by a particular protein called FOXP2 that is found in greater quantity in the female brain. In other language research conducted by Faraneh Vargha-Khadem, of the Institute of Child Health in London, and Oxford geneticist Anthony Monaco, FOXP2 mutations have also been linked to speech disorders that include garbled pronunciation, putting words in the wrong order, and difficulty understanding speech.

According to the Maryland School of Medicine study, women have more FOXP2 than men do, causing women to use more words than men. The Maryland study measured the amount of FOXP2 protein in the brains of rat pups and found that four-day-old rats that had higher levels of FOXP2 were more vocal than those with lower levels.

There is other evidence, however, to support the contrary, or at least that men and women talk about the same amount as one another, but in different ways. Scientists are just starting to uncover the many genes involved in speech and language.

More info about this subject can be found in the Journal of Neuroscience.

There is much to be learned about the way we all transmit and receive communications. Alpha Omega Translations stays abreast of the latest in linguistic and communications research.

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Tags: health, languages, science

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