Call combinations in great apes and the evolution of syntax

Leroux, Maël; Townsend, Simon W.

doi:10.26451/abc.07.02.07.2020

Cited by 40 publications

(26 citation statements)

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“…An emphasis on combinations and codes is, moreover, sometimes linked with particular assumptions about evolution: that as complex systems of words, rules and combinations, natural languages are enrichments of the communication systems of other species (e.g. Nowak et al, 2000;Progovac, 2015;Leroux & Townsend, 2020;Planer & Sterelny, 2021). This picture is attractive because it describes human and non-human communication systems in terms that appear continuous.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Expression unleashed: The evolutionary and cognitive foundations of human communication

Heintz

Scott‐Phillips²

2022

Behav Brain Sci

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Human expression is open-ended, versatile and diverse, ranging from ordinary language use to painting, from exaggerated displays of affection to micro-movements that aid coordination. Here we present and defend the claim that this expressive diversity is united by an interrelated suite of cognitive capacities, the evolved functions of which are the expression and recognition of informative intentions. We describe how evolutionary dynamics normally leash communication to narrow domains of statistical mutual benefit, and how they are unleashed in humans. The relevant cognitive capacities are cognitive adaptations to living in a partner choice social ecology; and they are, correspondingly, part of the ordinarily developing human cognitive phenotype, emerging early and reliably in ontogeny. In other words, we identify distinctive features of our species’ social ecology to explain how and why humans, and only humans, evolved the cognitive capacities that, in turn, lead to massive diversity and open-endedness in means and modes of expression. Language use is but one of these modes of expression, albeit one of manifestly high importance. We make cross-species comparisons, describe how the relevant cognitive capacities can evolve in a gradual manner, and survey how unleashed expression facilitates not only language use but novel behaviour in many other domains too, focusing on the examples of joint action, teaching, punishment and art, all of which are ubiquitous in human societies but relatively rare in other species. Much of this diversity derives from graded aspects of human expression, which can be used to satisfy informative intentions in creative and new ways. We aim to help reorient cognitive pragmatics, as a phenomenon that is not a supplement to linguistic communication and on the periphery of language science, but rather the foundation of the many of the most distinctive features of human behaviour, society and culture.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Expression unleashed: The evolutionary and cognitive foundations of human communication

Heintz

Scott‐Phillips²

2022

Behav Brain Sci

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“…Being non-human primates our closest living relatives, their vocal communication systems have often been regarded as the best model to understand which selective pressures lead to the uniqueness of human language (Fedurek and Slocombe 2011). Indeed, different crucial aspects underlying human vocal behavior shape the acoustic communication systems of other primates (Leroux and Townsend 2020). For example, previous studies investigated the ability to combine single components into larger structures and their referentiality (Pan troglodytes: Slocombe and Zuberbühler 2005; Pan paniscus: Clay and Zuberbühler 2009; Cercopithecus campbelli: Ouattara et al 2009; Callicebus nigrifrons: Cäsar and Zuberbühler 2012), the turntaking among individuals (Indri indri: Gamba et al 2016;Ateles geoffroyi: Briseño-Jaramillo et al 2018; Macaca fuscata: Katsu et al 2019), and the presence of rhythmic patterns (Indri indri: Gamba et al 2016;De Gregorio et al 2019; Tarsius spectrum gurskyae: Clink et al 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Linguistic laws of brevity: conformity in Indri indri

et al. 2021

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Vocal and gestural sequences of several primates have been found to conform to two general principles of information compression: the compensation between the duration of a construct and that of its components (Menzerath-Altmann law) and an inverse relationship between signal duration and its occurrence (Zipf's law of abbreviation). Even though Zipf's law of brevity has been proposed as a universal in animal communication, evidence on non-human primate vocal behavior conformity to linguistic laws is still debated, and information on strepsirrhine primates is lacking. We analyzed the vocal behavior of the unique singing lemur species (Indri indri) to assess whether the song of the species shows evidence for compression. As roars have a chaotic structure that impedes the recognition of each individual utterance, and long notes are usually given by males, we focused on the core part of the song (i.e., the descending phrases, composed of two-six units).Our results indicate that indris' songs conform to Zipf's and Menzerath-Altmann linguistic laws. Indeed, shorter phrases are more likely to be included in the song, and units' duration decrease at the increase of the size of the phrases. We also found that, despite a sexual dimorphism in the duration of both units and phrases, these laws characterize sequences of both males and females. Overall, we provide the first evidence for a trade-off between signal duration and occurrence in the vocal behavior of a strepsirrhine species, suggesting that selective pressures for vocal compression are more ancestral than previously assumed within primates.

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“…Furthermore, there are currently no explicit indications in the literature to my knowledge that specifically wild apes ( Hominoidea ) might be capable of semantic compositionality (cf. Boesch and Crockford 2005 ; Leroux and Townsend 2020 ; Terrace et al 1979 ). This is somewhat unexpected given that language experiments with captive apes have clearly demonstrated that they possess the capacity for at least some degree of semantic compositionality in both language production and language reception.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Overlooked evidence for semantic compositionality and signal reduction in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

Gabrić

2021

Anim Cogn

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Recent discoveries of semantic compositionality in Japanese tits have enlivened the discussions on the presence of this phenomenon in wild animal communication. Data on semantic compositionality in wild apes are lacking, even though language experiments with captive apes have demonstrated they are capable of semantic compositionality. In this paper, I revisit the study by Boesch (Hum. Evol. 6:81–89, 1991) who investigated drumming sequences by an alpha male in a chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) community in the Taï National Park, Côte d’Ivoire. A reanalysis of the data reveals that the alpha male produced semantically compositional combined messages of travel direction change and resting period initiation. Unlike the Japanese tits, the elements of the compositional expression were not simply juxtaposed but displayed structural reduction, while one of the two elements in the expression coded the meanings of both elements. These processes show relative resemblance to blending and fusion in human languages. Also unlike the tits, the elements of the compositional expression did not have a fixed order, although there was a fixed distribution of drumming events across the trees used for drumming. Because the elements of the expression appear to carry verb-like meanings, the compositional expression also resembles simple verb-verb constructions and short paratactic combinations of two clauses found across languages. In conclusion, the reanalysis suggests that semantic compositionality and phenomena resembling paratactic combinations of two clauses might have been present in the communication of the last common ancestor of chimpanzees and humans, not necessarily in the vocal modality.

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Call combinations in great apes and the evolution of syntax

Cited by 40 publications

References 0 publications

Expression unleashed: The evolutionary and cognitive foundations of human communication

Expression unleashed: The evolutionary and cognitive foundations of human communication

Linguistic laws of brevity: conformity in Indri indri

Overlooked evidence for semantic compositionality and signal reduction in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

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