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Language Evolution in Humans and Ancient Microbes: What can human language acquisition tell us about the origin of genetic information?

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dc.contributor.authorFreeland, Stephen J.
dc.contributor.authorIlardo, Melissa
dc.date.accessioned2023-07-19T12:59:27Z
dc.date.available2023-07-19T12:59:27Z
dc.date.issued2011
dc.descriptionPERILUS 2011, Symposium on Language Acquisition and Language Evolution, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden, 11-12 December 2011.en_US
dc.description.abstractThis paper seeks to encourage dialog on a question with a deceptively simple surface. When we find linguistics and genetics using the same vocabulary to describe their central phenomena, is this because the phenomena are meaningfully similar? Are we encountering a superficial analogy, enjoying the benefits of a good metaphor or recognizing some deeper principles of information organization and transfer? We approach this broad topic by focusing attention on the ancient evolutionary events that created a system of genetic coding, soon after the origin of life on our planet. Specifically we examine a progression of three topics: whether genetic code-words are arbitrary signifiers for the objects they encode (amino acids); how evolutionary biologists have deduced clues about the evolution of genetic coding by studying the complex end-product; and the current scientific paradigm for the origin of genetic information. Our suggested points of connection suggest encouraging insights from each side (linguistics to evolutionary biochemistry and vice versa), though our primary aim is to ask for further help exploring how linguistics can reshape thinking within evolutionary biology.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipWe are extremely grateful to Bjorn Lindblom and Francisco Lacerda for hosting the conference that led to this manuscript, to Peter MacNeilage and Peter Pagin for patience in explaining to us the fundamental ideas of evolutionary thinking within linguistic theory. We also thank Karen Meech for granting us time to pursue this particular interdisciplinary conversation. Sara Walker, Andrew Pohorille and James Stephenson have encouraged us in an exploration of alternatives to the RNA world hypothesis, and the NASA Astrobiology Institute has offered persistent encouragement for all interdisciplinary interactions that bring new insights to the study of life’s origins. This material is based upon work supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration through the NASA Astrobiology Institute under Cooperative Agreement No. NNA09DA77A issued through the Office of Space Science.en_US
dc.description.urihttps://www.ling.su.se/polopoly_fs/1.142250.1376032301!/menu/standard/file/Freeland_Ilardo_KVA_Symposium_20130808.pdfen_US
dc.genreconference papers and proceedingsen_US
dc.identifierdoi:10.13016/m2l0m8-p4cg
dc.identifier.citationFreeland, Stephen J. and Melissa Ilardo. "Language Evolution in Humans and Ancient Microbes: What can human language acquisition tell us about the origin of genetic information?" PERILUS 2011, Symposium on Language Acquisition and Language Evolution The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and Stockholm University (02 December, 2011). https://www.ling.su.se/polopoly_fs/1.142250.1376032301!/menu/standard/file/Freeland_Ilardo_KVA_Symposium_20130808.pdf.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11603/28774
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.publisherStockholm Universityen_US
dc.relation.isAvailableAtThe University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Biological Sciences Department Collection
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Individualized Study Program (INDS)
dc.rightsThis item is likely protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Unless on a Creative Commons license, for uses protected by Copyright Law, contact the copyright holder or the author.en_US
dc.subjectevolutionen_US
dc.subjectgenetic codeen_US
dc.subjectamino aciden_US
dc.subjectalphabeten_US
dc.subjecttranslationen_US
dc.subjectmetaphoren_US
dc.titleLanguage Evolution in Humans and Ancient Microbes: What can human language acquisition tell us about the origin of genetic information?en_US
dc.typeTexten_US

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