scholarly journals What can animal communication teach us about human language?

2019 ◽  
Vol 375 (1789) ◽  
pp. 20190042 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam R. Fishbein ◽  
Jonathan B. Fritz ◽  
William J. Idsardi ◽  
Gerald S. Wilkinson
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Research ◽  
Animal Communication ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Human Language ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Theme Issue

Language has been considered by many to be uniquely human. Numerous theories for how it evolved have been proposed but rarely tested. The articles in this theme issue consider the extent to which aspects of language, such as vocal learning, phonology, syntax, semantics, intentionality, cognition and neurobiological adaptations, are shared with other animals. By adopting a comparative approach, insights into the mechanisms and origins of human language can be gained. While points of agreement exist among the authors, conflicting viewpoints are expressed on several issues, such as the presence of proto-syntax in animal communication, the neural basis of the Merge operation, and the neurogenetic changes necessary for vocal learning. Future comparative research in animal communication has the potential to teach us even more about the evolution, neurobiology and cognitive basis of human language. This article is part of the theme issue ‘What can animal communication teach us about human language?’

scholarly journals Re-evaluating vocal production learning in non-oscine birds

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1836) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carel ten Cate
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Studies ◽  
Comparative Research ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Limited Evidence ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Vocal Production ◽  
Broad Definition ◽  
Interspecific Variations ◽  
Phylogenetic Framework ◽  
Definition Of

The study of vocal production learning in birds is heavily biased towards oscine songbirds, making the songbird model the reference for comparative studies. However, as vocal learning was probably ancestral in songbirds, interspecific variations might all be variations on a single theme and need not be representative of the nature and characteristics of vocal learning in other bird groups. To assess the possible mechanisms of vocal learning and its evolution therefore requires knowledge about independently evolved incidences of vocal learning. This review examines the presence and nature of vocal production learning in non-songbirds. Using a broad definition of vocal learning and a comparative phylogenetic framework, I evaluate the evidence for vocal learning and its characteristics in non-oscine birds, including well-known vocal learners such as parrots and hummingbirds but also (putative) cases from other taxa. Despite the sometimes limited evidence, it is clear that vocal learning occurs in a range of different, non-related, taxa and can be caused by a variety of mechanisms. It is more widespread than often realized, calling for more systematic studies. Examining this variation may provide a window onto the evolution of vocal learning and increase the value of comparative research for understanding vocal learning in humans. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Vocal learning in animals and humans’.

scholarly journals Animal cognition and the evolution of human language: why we cannot focus solely on communication

2019 ◽  
Vol 375 (1789) ◽  
pp. 20190046 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Tecumseh Fitch
Keyword(s):  
Communication Systems ◽  
Animal Communication ◽  
Language Evolution ◽  
Animal Cognition ◽  
Small Subset ◽  
Human Language ◽  
Human Communication ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Royal Road ◽  
Communicative Signals

Studies of animal communication are often assumed to provide the ‘royal road’ to understanding the evolution of human language. After all, language is the pre-eminent system of human communication: doesn't it make sense to search for its precursors in animal communication systems? From this viewpoint, if some characteristic feature of human language is lacking in systems of animal communication, it represents a crucial gap in evolution, and evidence for an evolutionary discontinuity. Here I argue that we should reverse this logic: because a defining feature of human language is its ability to flexibly represent and recombine concepts, precursors for many important components of language should be sought in animal cognition rather than animal communication. Animal communication systems typically only permit expression of a small subset of the concepts that can be represented and manipulated by that species. Thus, if a particular concept is not expressed in a species' communication system this is not evidence that it lacks that concept. I conclude that if we focus exclusively on communicative signals, we sell the comparative analysis of language evolution short. Therefore, animal cognition provides a crucial (and often neglected) source of evidence regarding the biology and evolution of human language. This article is part of the theme issue ‘What can animal communication teach us about human language?’

scholarly journals Animal Communication and Human Language: An overview

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonardo Barón Birchenall
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Research ◽  
Communication Systems ◽  
Animal Communication ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Human Language ◽  
Language Abilities ◽  
Evolution Of Language ◽  
Current State ◽  
Phylogenetic Evolution ◽  
Main Component

Comparative research has proven to be a fruitful field of study on the ontogenetic and phylogenetic evolution of language, and on the cognitive capacities unique to humans or shared with other animals. The degree of continuity between components of human language and non-human animal communication systems, as well as the existence of a core factor of language, are polemic subjects at present. In this article, we offer an overview of the research on animal communication, comparing the resulting data with the current knowledge on human language development. We try to summarize what is currently known about “language abilities” in multiple animals, and compare those facts to what is known about human language. The aim of the article is to provide an introduction to this particular topic, presenting the different sides of the arguments when possible. A special reference is made to the question of syntactic recursion as the main component of language, allegedly absent among non-human animals. We conclude that the current state of knowledge supports the existence of a certain degree of continuity between different aspects of animal communication and human language, including the syntactic domain.

scholarly journals Towards a new taxonomy of primate vocal production learning

2019 ◽  
Vol 375 (1789) ◽  
pp. 20190045 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Fischer ◽  
Kurt Hammerschmidt
Keyword(s):  
Nonhuman Primates ◽  
Animal Communication ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Auditory Comprehension ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Vocal Production ◽  
Evolution Of Speech ◽  
Ontogenetic Trajectory ◽  
Auditory Experience ◽  
Species Specific

The extent to which vocal learning can be found in nonhuman primates is key to reconstructing the evolution of speech. Regarding the adjustment of vocal output in relation to auditory experience (vocal production learning in the narrow sense), effects on the ontogenetic trajectory of vocal development as well as adjustment to group-specific call features have been found. Yet, a comparison of the vocalizations of different primate genera revealed striking similarities in the structure of calls and repertoires in different species of the same genus, indicating that the structure of nonhuman primate vocalizations is highly conserved. Thus, modifications in relation to experience only appear to be possible within relatively tight species-specific constraints. By contrast, comprehension learning may be extremely rapid and open-ended. In conjunction, these findings corroborate the idea of an ancestral independence of vocal production and auditory comprehension learning. To overcome the futile debate about whether or not vocal production learning can be found in nonhuman primates, we suggest putting the focus on the different mechanisms that may mediate the adjustment of vocal output in response to experience; these mechanisms may include auditory facilitation and learning from success. This article is part of the theme issue ‘What can animal communication teach us about human language?’

scholarly journals Exploring the cerebral substrate of voice perception in primate brains

2019 ◽  
Vol 375 (1789) ◽  
pp. 20180386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clémentine Bodin ◽  
Pascal Belin
Keyword(s):  
Animal Communication ◽  
Human Language ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Animal Kingdom ◽  
Voice Perception ◽  
Cortical Areas ◽  
System A ◽  
Cerebral Processing

One can consider human language to be the Swiss army knife of the vast domain of animal communication. There is now growing evidence suggesting that this technology may have emerged from already operational material instead of being a sudden innovation. Sharing ideas and thoughts with conspecifics via language constitutes an amazing ability, but what value would it hold if our conspecifics were not first detected and recognized? Conspecific voice (CV) perception is fundamental to communication and widely shared across the animal kingdom. Two questions that arise then are: is this apparently shared ability reflected in common cerebral substrate? And, how has this substrate evolved? The paper addresses these questions by examining studies on the cerebral basis of CV perception in humans' closest relatives, non-human primates. Neuroimaging studies, in particular, suggest the existence of a ‘voice patch system’, a network of interconnected cortical areas that can provide a common template for the cerebral processing of CV in primates. This article is part of the theme issue ‘What can animal communication teach us about human language?’

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?’

scholarly journals Bird sounds in nature writing: Human perspective on animal communication

2009 ◽  
Vol 37 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 580-613 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kadri Tüür
Keyword(s):  
Present Article ◽  
Nature Writing ◽  
Animal Communication ◽  
Bird Song ◽  
Literary Analysis ◽  
Human Language ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Human Interpretation ◽  
Object Of Study

The object of study in the present article is birds, more precisely the sounds of birds as they are represented in Estonian nature writing. The evolutionary and structural parallels of bird song with human language are reviewed. Human interpretation of bird sounds raises the question, whether it is possible to transmit or “translate” signals between the Umwelts of different species. The intentions of the sender of the signal may remain unknown, but the signification process within human Umwelt can still be traced and analysed. By approaching the excerpts of nature writing using semiotic methodology, I attempt to demonstrate how bird sounds can function as different types of signs, as outlined by Thomas A. Sebeok. It is argued that the zoosemiotic treatment of nature writing opens up a number of interesting perspectives that would otherwise remain beyond the scope of traditional literary analysis.

scholarly journals Opinion on monoaminergic contributions to traits and temperament

2018 ◽  
Vol 373 (1744) ◽  
pp. 20170153 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. W. Robbins
Keyword(s):  
Neural Networks ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Social Functioning ◽  
Personality Factors ◽  
Monoamine Neurotransmitters ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Experimental Animals ◽  
Neuroscience Research ◽  
Definition Of

This article critically reviews evidence relating temperamental traits and personality factors to the monoamine neurotransmitters, especially dopamine and serotonin. The genetic evidence is not yet considered to be conclusive and it is argued that basic neuroscience research on the neural basis of behaviour in experimental animals should be taken more into account. While questionnaire and lexical methodology including the ‘Five Factor’ theory has been informative (mostly for the traits relevant to social functioning, i.e. personality), biologically oriented approaches should be employed with more objective, theoretically grounded measures of cognition and behaviour, combined with neuroimaging and psychopharmacology, where appropriate. This strategy will enable specific functions of monoamines and other neuromodulators such as acetylcholine and neuropeptides (such as orexin) to be defined with respect to their roles in modulating activity in specific neural networks—leading to a more realistic definition of their interactive roles in complex, biologically based traits (i.e. temperament). This article is part of the theme issue ‘Diverse perspectives on diversity: multi-disciplinary approaches to taxonomies of individual differences’.

scholarly journals Syntax and compositionality in animal communication

2019 ◽  
Vol 375 (1789) ◽  
pp. 20190062 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaus Zuberbühler
Keyword(s):  
Hierarchical Structure ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Animal Communication ◽  
Artificial Grammar ◽  
Structural Flexibility ◽  
Event Perception ◽  
Evolutionary Transition ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory

Syntax has been found in animal communication but only humans appear to have generative, hierarchically structured syntax. How did syntax evolve? I discuss three theories of evolutionary transition from animal to human syntax: computational capacity, structural flexibility and event perception. The computation hypothesis is supported by artificial grammar experiments consistently showing that only humans can learn linear stimulus sequences with an underlying hierarchical structure, a possible by-product of computationally powerful large brains. The structural flexibility hypothesis is supported by evidence of meaning-bearing combinatorial and permutational signal sequences in animals, with sometimes compositional features, but no evidence for generativity or hierarchical structure. Again, animals may be constrained by computational limits in short-term memory but possibly also by limits in articulatory control and social cognition. The event categorization hypothesis, finally, posits that humans are cognitively predisposed to analyse natural events by assigning agency and assessing how agents impact on patients, a propensity that is reflected by the basic syntactic units in all languages. Whether animals perceive natural events in the same way is largely unknown, although event perception may provide the cognitive grounding for syntax evolution. This article is part of the theme issue ‘What can animal communication teach us about human language?’

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