Background and aims: It has long been hypothesised that the human capability to acquire the language is in some way encoded by our genetic structure. However, only recently has genetic evidence been accessible to substantiate the plausible genetic basis of language. Over the last decade, genetic variants have been identified which may predispose people to different aspects of speech and language difficulties. Speech and language disorders cover a wide range of conditions with heterogeneous and overlapping phenotypes and complicated etiologies harboring both genetic and environmental influences.

Methods: In this review of the literature, a systematic search in international electronic databases (Googlescholar, Pubmed, Sciencedirect and Scopus) was conducted and the English related articles for this subject were extracted through the selection of key words such as Language, genetics, FOXP2, candidate genes, etc.

Results: In this review article, it was discussed how the identification and study of specific genes, including FOXP2, CNTNAP2, FOXP1, DCDC2, DYX1C1, ROBO1, KIAA0319, ATP2C2, CMIP, CYP19A1, SRPX2, MRPL19, C2ORF3, DOCK4, could enhance our understanding of the etiology of speech and language disorders and the biological foundations of language acquisition.

Conclusion: The identification of genes linked to speech and language phenotypes and therefore the characterization of normal and aberrant functions of these genes have, in recent years, unraveled complicated details of molecular and cognitive mechanisms and provided valuable insight into the biological basis of language.