Now researchers from The Rockefeller University have unearthed intriguing genetic evidence: a protein variant found only in humans that may have helped shape the emergence of spoken language.

In fact, some of the most common English words are nonphonetic. For example, the words to and do do not rhyme with so or go.

Had they merely read the summary, my students would have seen many of the same words, but they’d have lacked the feeling part.