Language and communication Flashcards
Define communication
Relation between signal and response
(Language is a subtype)
What are adaptionist and informational views of communication?
Adaptionist = communication has adaptive benefit
Informational = biological signals carry information to reduce uncertainty
Define signal and response
Signal = something that has evolved to alter behaviour of others
Response = an act which has evolved to be affected by a signal
Define language
Sophisticated symbol-based communication system governed by hierarchical rules, requiring many sophisticated cognitive processes
What are the three rules of language?
1) Open and generative = always evolving new words, signals and meanings
(animals have closed system)
2) Referential and conveys specific meanings = speech, gestures and writing refer to things in the world, symbols can be highly specific or general
3) Hierarchical structure governed by syntactic rules
What are the five components of the universal structure of language?
Syntax - rules and principles that govern the structure of a language (grammar)
Semantics - the meaning of linguistic units like words, signs and gestures (relationship between symbol and what it represents)
Phonology - organisation of speech sounds - phonemes (smallest unit) meaningless sounds which combine to form meaningful units
Pragmatics - context gives language meaning (e.g. homonyms)
Morphology - structure of words and rules of how they are formed - morphemes are smallest meaningful units of language
What does ‘language is modality independent’ mean?
It is not dependent on a single modality (e.g. speech or visual cues)
What makes sign language a language?
It has the same linguistic features as other languages and develops at the same pace in childhood
What is homology
Estimates of shared traits or sequences
What are the three language evolution routes?
Vocal route
Gestural route - more components than primate vocalisations
Multi-modal route (both) - gesture changes perception of speech
What is communicative flexibility?
Learning to produce new sounds and vocally imitating
Animals are excellent vocal learners (whales, birds, bats) and vocal mimicry is excellent in male superb lyrebird (imitates 24 other species for reproductive advantage)
Primates - limited vocal learning, instead use gestures for more complex communication
What is referential communication
Vocalisations refer to objects - semantic communication (not emotion-bound)
e.g. Vervet monkey alarm calls - distinct for leopards, eagles, snakes - trigger different behavioural responses
Playback experiments - playing animal sounds and observing behavioural responses
What are call sequences?
Basic form of syntax - order changes meaning
e.g. Putty-nosed monkey:
Hack - eagles
Pyow - leopards
Pyow-hack - travel
e.g. Bonobos - different calls based on quality of food - one for high, one for low, and a combination for medium (confirmed by playback experiments)
What are audience effects and intentionality?
Intentionally adapt signals according to who they are talking to - not indiscriminate, sensitive to the audience
e.g. Chimpanzees more likely to produce food calls when friend present than non-friend
e.g. Chimpanzees inform each other about danger - more likely to produce alarm calls if they know one chimp cannot see snake
What are ape gestures?(General definition)
Discrete, mechanically ineffective body movement used intentionally to affect knowledge and change behaviour of receiver
Same properties that language has
Who were the apes taught to use spoken language?
Gua - chimpanzee (1930s)
- Enculturated - raised as if human
- Never produced intelligible words
Viki - chimpanzee (1950s)
- Enculturated and given reinforcement training
- After 7 years - only produced 4 words
(Apes not good vocal learners like humans, better at gestures)
Who were the apes taught to use ASL?
Washoe - chimpanzee
- Could produce 150-250 ASL signs and understood 100s
- Used signs with other chimpanzees
- Imitative - little creativity (only example was signing water and bird for swan)
- Dissimilar to children learning ASL
Nim Chimpsky - chimpanzee
- Produced around 350 ASL signs
- Not like language - mainly imitative, imperative and lacked syntax
Slower learner than typical developing child
- Me eat orange
Who was the ape taught to use a lexigram board?
Kanzi - the world’s cleverest bonobo
- Language trained using lexigram board with 348 symbols
- Understood at least 3000 spoken English words
Still limited production and mainly just for imperative demands
What ethical issues were associated with research on apes?
- Kanzi was massively overweight as his trainer fed him human unhealthy foods
- Wrong to raise wild animals as humans
- Not enough scientific justification - exploiting animals for human curiosity
What are limitations of early ape language studies?
- Apes have impressive comprehension, but limited production
- Unlike children - imperative, rewards based, slow acquisition
- Limited combinatorial skills (syntax)
- Enculturation is not natural - extensive human experience means low ecological validity
- Naturalistic studies instead tell us more about the development of language
What is the role and location of Broca’s area?
Role = language production (speech)
Location = inferior frontal gyrus, frontal lobe, left hemisphere
Is Broca’s area uniquely human?
No:
Cantalupo and Hopkins conducted MRI scans of ape brains which showed Brodmann’s area 44 in their left hemisphere (a homolog of Broca’s area)
What is the role and location of Wernicke’s area?
Role = language comprehension
Location = temporoparietal junction of posterior superior temporal lobe, left hemisphere
Evidence for ape Wernicke’s area and similarities between Wernicke’s and Broca’s?
- Spocter found chimpanzees had left hemisphere asymmetries in area TPT (temporo-parietal association cortex)
- Neuron density in TPT correlated with that in Brodmann’s 45, part of Broca’s area