ABSTRACT
Of all psychological attributes, language is surely the one that sets humans apart. Other animals may use gestures and sounds to communicate, but the sheer complexity and sophistication of human language suggests to psychologists that extensive regions of the brain must be dedicated to dealing with it. Two factors have led researchers to conclude that humans are genetically predisposed to acquire language. One is the appearance of certain universal features, such as a basic grammatical form. A second is the ease with which language is acquired under the most adverse of circumstances (e.g. acquisition in deaf mute people).
