W4L1 unique communication Flashcards
Language and communication in animal
Mammals - body odour indicates sexual receptivity or facilitates individual recognition
Birds - vocalisations indicates territory, suitability as a mate, or need for food
Bees - body movements indicate location and direction of food (dance ‘language’)
Ants - chemical signals recruit nest-mates to food sources and territory defence, and identify foes
what does communication involve
Communication typically involves specific cues and information and often restricted
Do animals have/use language
communication typically in the form of signals that have very similar meanings
* Vocal signals are usually linked to an emotional state (mammals and birds)
* Signals are often involuntary
-human have a diverse range of signal that can change across scenarios
Human Language
communication is largely voluntary (not linked to emotional state)
* uses symbols (not icons) to stand for things about which we want to communicate
* language has generativity (the ability to construct complex messages)
* allows us to communicate ideas and concepts about the past, the present and the future
Key feature of language: the specifics may differ, but the message is conveyed
Recursion: a key feature of Language
The ability to tack clauses onto clauses, or embed clauses within clauses
In theory, there is no upper bound on how many sentences we can put together
-we can switch it up and around and it will still make sense
-Tone is use to further add information, this is why written word can get confusing
When did language evolve
Still debated and in the absence of genetic evidence it is difficult to state conclusively but likely that emerged in our own genus
Approaches to understanding the evolution of language
studies of primate social behavior
* the diversity of existing human languages
* the development of language in children
* the genetic and anatomical correlates of language competence
* theoretical studies of cultural evolution, learning and lexicon formation
Two possible routes to spoken language in humans
Language evolved from primate vocal communication by an elaboration of the same kinds of sound patterns
OR Language evolved from a developed gestural language (from Hand to Mouth) (more likely)
Evidence for human language evolution if language evolve from primate vocal communication
Kanzi can understand human speech, but cannot produce it
Great apes communicate well visually using/interpreting gestures
intentional communication with artificial symbols closest approximation to human language
-not a strong evidence overall
Evidence for language evolution from gesture
-Monkey can mirror behavior, have a neural mechanisms that allow them to empathize( necessary precursor of language) with visual gesture
-monkey have the same neural respond when watching an action and repeating the action (but not when tools is involved)
What is the theory of mind
Theory of mind is an ability to understand the minds of others and to know what others see, or feel, or know
M&M task
The child fails the task if they respond that another person will think that the box contains pencils
Typically, children pass this test at age four or five years
People with neurotypical disorders can struggle with this task
The amazing versatility of language
-is arbitrary; words cannot be iconic and offer scope for creating symbols that distinguish between objects or actions that look alike
-facilitates communication in the dark
-commands attention
-frees the hands to do other things
-allows signaler and receiver to communicate while looking at something else
The best evidence for gestural theory of language evolution
-vocal communication in great apes is involuntary
-great apes are capable of voluntary communication using gestures language requires sender and receiver having shared understanding
-mirror-neurons provide the neural mechanism for such a process in gestures - their presence in monkeys suggests a phylogenetically old common ancestor
-signed language in humans as sophisticated as vocal language
-articulate speech requires extensive changes to the vocal tract and cortical control of vocalisation and breathing, perhaps not complete until 50,000 years ago
Languages in drier climate
-tend to have less vowels
people in colder regions tend to be closer together, so less need for sonorant vowels, which have complex tonality
or
* interaction between vocal-tract physiology and ambient air (dry air interferes with sound production)
