Primate communication
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Klaus Zuberbühler
Abstract
An influential position in linguistics is that human language has not evolved primarily as a communication device, but as a “system of thought.” This system enables humans to refer to the outside world in ways that cannot be reduced to a “peculiar nature belonging to [a] thing” and to construct an infinite number of internal structures by merging (Chomsky 2005). Whether such an evolutionary scenario is plausible will depend much on comparative research with primates. Recent field experiments suggest that mental concepts of nonhuman primates can do more than refer to the physical properties of the outside world; there is evidence for distinct idiosyncratic qualities coined by the “cultural” background of their bearers. There is also evidence that primates perform basic mental operations when attending to each other’s calls, and that they combine elements of their repertoire to generate meanings that are independent of the constituent parts. Finally, there is a consensus that evolution has shaped primate communication as a device to pursue social goals, and it is unclear why humans should have been exempt from this process. In conclusion, contrary to the “cognition over communication” hypothesis, there is evolutionary continuity in mental operations and communicative versatility, suggesting that language evolved gradually from a nonlinguistic precursor in ancestral human population that also underwent an unprecedented increase in relative brain size and mental capacity.
Abstract
An influential position in linguistics is that human language has not evolved primarily as a communication device, but as a “system of thought.” This system enables humans to refer to the outside world in ways that cannot be reduced to a “peculiar nature belonging to [a] thing” and to construct an infinite number of internal structures by merging (Chomsky 2005). Whether such an evolutionary scenario is plausible will depend much on comparative research with primates. Recent field experiments suggest that mental concepts of nonhuman primates can do more than refer to the physical properties of the outside world; there is evidence for distinct idiosyncratic qualities coined by the “cultural” background of their bearers. There is also evidence that primates perform basic mental operations when attending to each other’s calls, and that they combine elements of their repertoire to generate meanings that are independent of the constituent parts. Finally, there is a consensus that evolution has shaped primate communication as a device to pursue social goals, and it is unclear why humans should have been exempt from this process. In conclusion, contrary to the “cognition over communication” hypothesis, there is evolutionary continuity in mental operations and communicative versatility, suggesting that language evolved gradually from a nonlinguistic precursor in ancestral human population that also underwent an unprecedented increase in relative brain size and mental capacity.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- Introduction ix
-
Part 1. General perspectives and issues on language origins
- Historical, Darwinian, and current perspectives on the origin(s) of language 3
- The origin of language as seen by eighteenth-century philosophy 31
- Cognitive and social aspects of language origins 53
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Part 2. At the roots of language
- Reconstructed fossil vocal tracts and the production of speech 75
- Paleoanthropology and language 129
- Material culture and language 147
- Gestural theory of the origins of language 171
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Part 3. Communication and language origins
- Primate communication 187
- FoxP2 and vocalization 211
- Brain lateralization and the emergence of language 237
- Sensorimotor constraints and the organization of sound patterns 257
- Symbol grounding and the origin of language 279
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Part 4. Linguistic views on language origins
- Sound patterns and conceptual content of the first words 301
- Brave new words 333
- On the origin of Grammar 379
- Arbitrary signs and the emergence of language 407
- On the relevance of pidgins and creoles in the debate on the origins of language 441
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Part 5. Computational modeling of language origins
- Modeling cultural evolution 487
- How language emerges in situated embodied interactions 505
- Emergence of communication and language in evolving robots 533
- Evolving a bridge from praxis to language 555
- Index 579
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- Introduction ix
-
Part 1. General perspectives and issues on language origins
- Historical, Darwinian, and current perspectives on the origin(s) of language 3
- The origin of language as seen by eighteenth-century philosophy 31
- Cognitive and social aspects of language origins 53
-
Part 2. At the roots of language
- Reconstructed fossil vocal tracts and the production of speech 75
- Paleoanthropology and language 129
- Material culture and language 147
- Gestural theory of the origins of language 171
-
Part 3. Communication and language origins
- Primate communication 187
- FoxP2 and vocalization 211
- Brain lateralization and the emergence of language 237
- Sensorimotor constraints and the organization of sound patterns 257
- Symbol grounding and the origin of language 279
-
Part 4. Linguistic views on language origins
- Sound patterns and conceptual content of the first words 301
- Brave new words 333
- On the origin of Grammar 379
- Arbitrary signs and the emergence of language 407
- On the relevance of pidgins and creoles in the debate on the origins of language 441
-
Part 5. Computational modeling of language origins
- Modeling cultural evolution 487
- How language emerges in situated embodied interactions 505
- Emergence of communication and language in evolving robots 533
- Evolving a bridge from praxis to language 555
- Index 579
