Evolution Of Language Flashcards
Theories of language evolution
Lexical protolanguage, gestural protolanguage, musical protolanguage
Protolanguage
Evolutionary precursors to language
Lexical protolanguage hypothesis
Language started with individual, meaningful words
Gestural protolanguage
Language started with hand gestures
Musical protolanguage
Language began with complex, song-like vocalisations
Phylogeny
Evolution of language in humans
Comparative method includes what features of human language
Signal structure and syntax
What did Heimbaurer et al (2011) find with Panzee?
Recognised 128 words
Trained keyboard symbols
Limitation of Panzee? (Heimbaurer et al 2011)
Doesn’t understand as much as high school student (60,000 words)
Nim Chimpsky findings
Could construct multi word phrases and trained in sign language
Limitations of Nim Chimpsky
Lang as tool to obtain things and primarily intentions
Kanzi the bonobo findings
Could build thoughts and sentences by pointing to symbols
Limitations of Kanzi the bonobo
94% requests, 4% indicative statements
Assumed Argument of TOM in human Lang
Assumed fundamental difference in ability to recognise mental states of others
Recent research by Crockford et al (2012) TOM
Snake on path- apes intentionally communicate among unaware group members
Suggestion for ability to express thoughts
Change in FOX P2 gene (evidence for mutation KE family= difficulty pronouncing words and speaking grammatically)
Faculty of language proposed by
Hauser, Chomsky and Fitch (2010)
2 distinct senses of faculty of language
Broad sense and narrow sense
Faculty of language in the broad sense
Sensory motor system, conceptual-intentional system, computational mechanism for recursion
Faculty of language in the narrow sense
Only includes recursion and only unique component of human language
Theories for language evolution
Lexical protolanguage, gestural protolanguage and musical protolanguage
Lexical protolanguage was proposed by whom?
Bickerton (1990)
Gestural protolanguage proposed by whom?
Hewes (1973)
Musical protolanguage proposed by who?
Darwin and Fitch
Main point argued by lexical protolanguage
- vocab and meaning but no syntax
- Catastrophic emergence of syntax from protolanguage -> language
Supporting evidence for lexical protolanguage
- ape utterance and child language
- pidgins -> Creoles
Limitation of lexical protolanguage
focus on transition between protolanguage -> modern language but how did protolanguage arise
Jackendoff (1999, 2002) extension of lexical protolanguage
Multistage process of syntax development: one word stage (utterances mapped to meanings)
Evolution of lexical acquisition enable large vocabs
Strengths of lexical protolanguage approach
Supports cooperation through sharing information e.g facilitate hunting, gathering, defence and social communication
Limitations of lexical protolanguage
Not evolutionary stable (Free riders)-> Kin selection and altruism
Vocal learning is assumed without explanation
Gestural protolanguage was proposed by
Hewes et al (1973)
Gestural protolanguage assumption
Humans gesture automatically and gestures emerge in children before speech
Strengths of gestural protolanguage
Non-human primates can produce sophisticated gestures to signal objects e.g Panzee (Heimbauher et al., 2011)
Humans can pantomime successfully + home sign deaf children with hearing parents
Limitations of gestural protolanguage
Fitch (2010) why would gestural-> spoken Lang?
Native signers don’t need hands free + listening also demands attention
Musical protolanguage argued by
Darwin and Fitch
Musical protolanguage accounts for
Arbitrariness and generativity
Assumptions behind musical protolanguage
Music is universal in human cultures
Always has structure
Still part of human Lang
Darwin (1971) 3 stages in emergence of articulate language
Development of protohuman cognition
Evolution of vocal imitation
Association with meanings
Fitch (2002) multistage model
- Phonology - sexual and kin selection
- Arbitrary, holistic meaning (kin selection, context-bound)
- Analytic meaning (thoughts expressed)
- Modern language (kin selection and mother-infant communication)
Support for musical protolanguage
Dissanayake (2000) music important in raising infants-> strengthening mother-infant bond
Conclusion of LCA and humans
Probably a combination of cognitive developments driven by increased brain size and changes in neural connectivity and plasticity
Physiological changes in humans (evolution)
Bipedalism, vocal tract (lowered larynx)
What must be accounted for in any evolutionary theory of language
The human drive to share, capacity for vocal learning, development of large vocabularies and complex syntax
Future directions for evolution of language research
Genetic approaches to date emergence of alleles by measuring amount of divergence between versions in humans and other species
(may help establish order of changes from LCA-> modern human)
