scholarly journals Language is not isolated from its wider environment: Vocal tract influences on the evolution of speech and language

2017 ◽  
Vol 54 ◽  
pp. 9-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Dediu ◽  
Rick Janssen ◽  
Scott R. Moisik
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Speech And Language ◽  
Evolution Of Speech

The Evolution of Speech and Language

2014 ◽  
pp. 873-920
Author(s):  
Philip Lieberman ◽  
Robert C. McCarthy
Keyword(s):  
Speech And Language ◽  
Evolution Of Speech

scholarly journals The evolution of speech and language

2014 ◽  
Vol 37/38 ◽  
pp. 11-48
Author(s):  
Ivor Janković ◽  
Tena Šojer
Keyword(s):  
Speech And Language ◽  
Evolution Of Speech

scholarly journals Articulatory capacity of Neanderthals, a very recent and human-like fossil hominin

2012 ◽  
Vol 367 (1585) ◽  
pp. 88-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Barney ◽  
Sandra Martelli ◽  
Antoine Serrurier ◽  
James Steele
Keyword(s):  
Ancient Dna ◽  
Tool Use ◽  
Selection Pressure ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Indirect Evidence ◽  
Human Language ◽  
Positive Selection Pressure ◽  
Archaeological Evidence ◽  
Evolution Of Speech ◽  
Fossil Hominin

Scientists seek to use fossil and archaeological evidence to constrain models of the coevolution of human language and tool use. We focus on Neanderthals, for whom indirect evidence from tool use and ancient DNA appears consistent with an adaptation to complex vocal-auditory communication. We summarize existing arguments that the articulatory apparatus for speech had not yet come under intense positive selection pressure in Neanderthals, and we outline some recent evidence and analyses that challenge such arguments. We then provide new anatomical results from our own attempt to reconstruct vocal tract (VT) morphology in Neanderthals, and document our simulations of the acoustic and articulatory potential of this reconstructed Neanderthal VT. Our purpose in this paper is not to polarize debate about whether or not Neanderthals were human-like in all relevant respects, but to contribute to the development of methods that can be used to make further incremental advances in our understanding of the evolution of speech based on fossil and archaeological evidence.

scholarly journals Behaviour, biology, and evolution of vocal learning in bats

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonja C. Vernes ◽  
Gerald S. Wilkinson
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Current State ◽  
Evolution Of Speech ◽  
Multiple Levels ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Key Questions

SummaryThe comparative approach can provide insight into the evolution of human speech, language, and social communication by studying relevant traits in animal systems. Bats are emerging as a model system with great potential to shed light on these processes given their learned vocalisations, close social interactions, and mammalian brains and physiology. A recent framework outlined the multiple levels of investigation needed to understand vocal learning across a broad range of non-human species including cetaceans, pinnipeds, elephants, birds and bats. Herein we apply this framework to the current state of the art in bat research. This encompasses our understanding of the abilities bats have displayed for vocal learning, what is known about the timing and social structure needed for such learning, and current knowledge about the prevalence of the trait across the order. It also addresses the biology (vocal tract morphology, neurobiology, and genetics) and phylogenetics of this trait. We conclude by highlighting some key questions that should be answered to advance our understanding of the biological encoding and evolution of speech and spoken communication.

The Evolution of Speech and Language

2013 ◽  
pp. 1-41
Author(s):  
Philip Lieberman ◽  
Robert C. McCarthy
Keyword(s):  
Speech And Language ◽  
Evolution Of Speech

Vocal innovation

2007 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 415-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
John L. Locke
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Problem ◽  
Speech And Language ◽  
Target Article ◽  
Evolution Of Speech ◽  
The Voice ◽  
Important Form

AbstractAn important form of innovation involves use of the voice in a new way, usually to solve some environmental problem. Vocal innovation occurs in humans and other animals, including chimpanzees. The framework outlined in the target article, appropriately modified, may permit new perspectives on the use of others as tools, especially by infants, and the evolution of speech and language.

scholarly journals The vocal tract as a time machine: inferences about past speech and language from the anatomy of the speech organs

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1824) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Dediu ◽  
Scott R. Moisik ◽  
W. A. Baetsen ◽  
Abel Marinus Bosman ◽  
Andrea L. Waters-Rist
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Proof Of Concept ◽  
Speech And Language ◽  
Vowel Production ◽  
Lower Jaw ◽  
Precise Shape ◽  
Modelling Studies ◽  
Hard Structures ◽  
Anatomical Information

While speech and language do not fossilize, they still leave traces that can be extracted and interpreted. Here, we suggest that the shape of the hard structures of the vocal tract may also allow inferences about the speech of long-gone humans. These build on recent experimental and modelling studies, showing that there is extensive variation between individuals in the precise shape of the vocal tract, and that this variation affects speech and language. In particular, we show that detailed anatomical information concerning two components of the vocal tract (the lower jaw and the hard palate) can be extracted and digitized from the osteological remains of three historical populations from The Netherlands, and can be used to conduct three-dimensional biomechanical simulations of vowel production. We could recover the signatures of inter-individual variation between these vowels, in acoustics and articulation. While ‘proof-of-concept’, this study suggests that older and less well-preserved remains could be used to draw inferences about historic and prehistoric languages. Moreover, it forces us to clarify the meaning and use of the uniformitarian principle in linguistics, and to consider the wider context of language use, including the anatomy, physiology and cognition of the speakers. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Reconstructing prehistoric languages’.

scholarly journals Behaviour, biology and evolution of vocal learning in bats

2019 ◽  
Vol 375 (1789) ◽  
pp. 20190061 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonja C. Vernes ◽  
Gerald S. Wilkinson
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Animal Communication ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Current State ◽  
Evolution Of Speech ◽  
Multiple Levels ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Shed Light

The comparative approach can provide insight into the evolution of human speech, language and social communication by studying relevant traits in animal systems. Bats are emerging as a model system with great potential to shed light on these processes given their learned vocalizations, close social interactions, and mammalian brains and physiology. A recent framework outlined the multiple levels of investigation needed to understand vocal learning across a broad range of non-human species, including cetaceans, pinnipeds, elephants, birds and bats. Here, we apply this framework to the current state-of-the-art in bat research. This encompasses our understanding of the abilities bats have displayed for vocal learning, what is known about the timing and social structure needed for such learning, and current knowledge about the prevalence of the trait across the order. It also addresses the biology (vocal tract morphology, neurobiology and genetics) and evolution of this trait. We conclude by highlighting some key questions that should be answered to advance our understanding of the biological encoding and evolution of speech and spoken communication. This article is part of the theme issue ‘What can animal communication teach us about human language?’

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