The Frame/Content theory of evolution of speech: A comparison with a gestural-origins alternative

Author(s):  
Peter F. MacNeilage ◽  
Barbara L. Davis
2005 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter F. MacNeilage ◽  
Barbara L. Davis

The Frame/Content theory deals with how and why the first language evolved the present-day speech mode of programming syllable “Frame” structures with segmental (consonant and vowel) “Content” elements. The first words are considered, for biomechanical reasons, to have had the simple syllable frame structures of pre-speech babbling (e.g., “bababa”), and were perhaps parental terms, generated within the parent–infant dyad. Although all gestural origins theories (including Arbib’s theory reviewed here) have iconicity as a plausible alternative hypothesis for the origin of the meaning-signal link for words, they all share the problems of how and why a fully fledged sign language, necessarily involving a structured phonology, changed to a spoken language.


1998 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 526-527
Author(s):  
Irene M. Pepperberg

Much of the material MacNeilage cites to support his frame/content theory for the evolution of speech production in humans is not unique to mammals. Parallels can be drawn for comparable evolution of vocal flexibility (specifically the reproduction of human speech) in birds. I describe several such parallels and conclude that MacNeilage's hypotheses may have broader application than he envisioned.


2009 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 78-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth Hugdahl ◽  
René Westerhausen

The present paper is based on a talk on hemispheric asymmetry given by Kenneth Hugdahl at the Xth European Congress of Psychology, Praha July 2007. Here, we propose that hemispheric asymmetry evolved because of a left hemisphere speech processing specialization. The evolution of speech and the need for air-based communication necessitated division of labor between the hemispheres in order to avoid having duplicate copies in both hemispheres that would increase processing redundancy. It is argued that the neuronal basis of this labor division is the structural asymmetry observed in the peri-Sylvian region in the posterior part of the temporal lobe, with a left larger than right planum temporale area. This is the only example where a structural, or anatomical, asymmetry matches a corresponding functional asymmetry. The increase in gray matter volume in the left planum temporale area corresponds to a functional asymmetry of speech processing, as indexed from both behavioral, dichotic listening, and functional neuroimaging studies. The functional anatomy of the corpus callosum also supports such a view, with regional specificity of information transfer between the hemispheres.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (SPL1) ◽  
pp. 86-93
Author(s):  
Dhirajsingh Sumersingh Rajput

Evolution is continuous process of changes in structural and physiological mechanism in living being. Microbes/pathogens can evolve naturally or artificially and become resistant to various medicines. Novel coronavirus is such evolved pathogen of coronavirus group. Enough strong immunity is needed to prevent or survive from COVID-19 pandemic. Ayurveda provides ways for evolving physiological responses to built immunity. Present work is brief attempt to increase insight in this filed.Present review was done based on simple theory of evolution, recent updates regarding prevention of COVID-19, Ayurveda aspect toward infectious diseases and Ayurveda ways towards prevention of infectious diseases with special reference to COVID-19. Person with impaired immunity is more susceptible for COVID-19 and thus immunity is an important preventing factor. Ayurveda Rasayana (rejuvanation) herbs, Yoga exercises, Pranayama (special breathing exercise), daily regimens and personal hygiene guidelines can be helpful strategies in controlling the spread of COVID-19.The preventive aspects of pandemic situations are narrated in Ayurveda with enough details. These ways need to be scientifically explored and refined for precision. As prevention is always better than cure hence Ayurveda ways can be considered for future strategies to avoid pandemics such as COVID-19.  There is great need of research on Ayurveda medicines on COVID-19 like diseases.


2013 ◽  
Vol 45 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 59-75
Author(s):  
Hilde Løvdal Stephens

Today, evangelical Christians in the U.S. are known for their passion for the so-called traditional family and engagement in political and cultural battles over children and child rearing. That has not always been the case. This article examines how parenting became a cultural and political battleground for evangelicals in the last decades of the 20th century. Conservative Protestants have engaged with politics and culture in the past. They supported the Prohibition movement; they opposed Darwin’s theory of evolution; they worried about the decadent culture of the 1920s. In the late 1900s, however, child rearing and parenting became a catch-all framework for all their concerns. Parenting took on new, profound meaning. Preachers like Billy Graham would reject his former notions that he was called to preach, saying he was first and foremost called to father. Evangelical Christian family experts like James Dobson and Larry Christenson linked parenting to social order. Family experts guided evangelicals in their political and cultural activism, telling them that the personal is political and that political issues can be solved one family at a time.


Author(s):  
Michael Ruse

Charles Robert Darwin, the English naturalist, published On the Origin of Species in 1859 and the follow-up work The Descent of Man in 1871. In these works, he argued for his theory of evolution through natural selection, applying it to all organisms, living and dead, including our own species, Homo sapiens. Although controversial from the start, Darwin’s thinking was deeply embedded in the culture of his day, that of a middle-class Englishman. Evolution as such was an immediate success in scientific circles, but although the mechanism of selection had supporters in the scientific community (especially among those working with fast-breeding organisms), its real success was in the popular domain. Natural selection, and particularly the side mechanism of sexual selection, were known to all and popular themes in fiction and elsewhere.


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