I know some guys hear are historians and u/AlfredicEnglishRules is an anthropologist. I was listening to a podcast and someone brought up some groups in America use slang predominately because their biology makes English difficult for them. I'm wondering how biology affects language? Is it just an IQ thing, or are there subtle differences in vocal chords? Or is it bullshit?
I can understand cultural differences shaping languages. And I've heard evolutionary differences, like early men having to increase their vocabularies to include dogs in their hunting.
Everyone starts with the same basic biology, so there won't be any difference there.
From an anatomical POV losing teeth or damage to the lips/tongue will affect things because, for the English language at least, those are the things you use when making the sounds for consonants. They're all some variation of air pressure being moulded around the teeth and tongue, so language can be affected in that sense but only in terms of deviating from the norm in terms of how the structure of the mouth should be.
This includes idiots who split their tongues, probably affects a lot of people with lip/tongue/facial piercings around the same areas, those who have lost teeth for whatever reasons, and anyone unfortunate enough to be born with several conditions where the mouth/teeth/tongue don't form fully.