Putting the uniquely human version of a certain gene into mice changed the way that those animals vocalized to each other, suggesting that this gene may play a role in speech and language. Mice make a ...

An international team proposes replacing Hockett’s feature checklist with a model of language as a dynamic, multimodal, and socially evolving system.

Among the myriad abilities that humans possess, which ones are uniquely human? Language has been a top candidate at least since Aristotle, who wrote that humanity was “the animal that has language.” ...

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. Among the myriad abilities that humans possess, which ones are uniquely human? Language has been a top candidate at least since ...

Researchers have found that wild orangutans vocalize with a layered complexity previously thought to be unique to human communication, suggesting a much older evolutionary origin. In groundbreaking ...

People like to talk. We're unique in the animal kingdom in terms of how much we communicate and the kinds of information we discuss. Scientists are trying to understand how this special trait evolved ...

A new study shows that giving mice the human version of a gene changes their squeak, suggesting some of the genetic underpinnings of language. People like to talk. We're unique in the animal kingdom ...

A new study shows that giving mice the human version of a gene changes their squeak, suggesting some of the genetic underpinnings of language. How a uniquely human genetic tweak changed the voices of ...