November 16, 2001

Language Does Not Depend on Speech

To the Editor:

With regard to "The Gift for Gabbing," by Richard Monastersky (October 19), I am pained by the absence of any examination of the claim made by the University of Oxford scientists that their research identifies a "genetic component of speech and language." This is neither a fair nor an accurate characterization. To conflate speech and language is a common mistake. ... Researchers can make the mistake as easily as anyone else -- anyone else except deaf people, that