Vocal learning in animals and humans

Vernes, Sonja C.; Janik, Vincent M.; Fitch, W. Tecumseh; Slater, Peter J.

doi:10.1098/rstb.2020.0234

Cited by 25 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…It is doubtful that vocal tremor evolved to signal stress or exertion: most likely, this is simply a physiological side effect of muscular activity, and thus a cue rather than a signal ( Maynard Smith & Harper, 2003 ). It is particularly interesting that such indexical vocal cues are found in humans—a species whose flexibility of vocal control and capacity for vocal production learning are rivaled by songbirds, but few other mammalian species ( Vernes et al, 2021 ). Vocal learners can sometimes escape from physiological constraints on voice production: for example, in-flight vocalizations tend to be synchronized with wing beats in most birds, but not in the species capable of vocal learning ( Berg, Delgado & Mata-Betancourt, 2019 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The honest sound of physical effort

Anikin

2023

PeerJ

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Acoustic correlates of physical effort are still poorly understood, even though effort is vocally communicated in a variety of contexts with crucial fitness consequences, including both confrontational and reproductive social interactions. In this study 33 lay participants spoke during a brief, but intense isometric hold (L-sit), first without any voice-related instructions, and then asked either to conceal their effort or to imitate it without actually performing the exercise. Listeners in two perceptual experiments then rated 383 recordings on perceived level of effort (n = 39 listeners) or categorized them as relaxed speech, actual effort, pretended effort, or concealed effort (n = 102 listeners). As expected, vocal effort increased compared to baseline, but the accompanying acoustic changes (increased loudness, pitch, and tense voice quality) were under voluntary control, so that they could be largely suppressed or imitated at will. In contrast, vocal tremor at approximately 10 Hz was most pronounced under actual load, and its experimental addition to relaxed baseline recordings created the impression of concealed effort. In sum, a brief episode of intense physical effort causes pronounced vocal changes, some of which are difficult to control. Listeners can thus estimate the true level of exertion, whether to judge the condition of their opponent in a fight or to monitor a partner’s investment into cooperative physical activities.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The honest sound of physical effort

Anikin

2023

PeerJ

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“…This is remarkable because vocal learning appears to evolve relatively easily across the animal kingdom (Vernes et al, 2021 ) although usually for functions related to reproduction or social cohesion. Examples are birdsong (Doupe & Kuhl, 1999 ) and or the song of cetaceans (Janik, 2009 ), dolphin whistle imitations (Janik, 2000 ) or vocal convergence in primate social groups, usually as a means to signal social closeness (Ruch et al, 2018 ).…”

Section: Evolution Of Vocal Controlmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transition to language: From agent perception to event representation

Zuberbühler

Bickel

2022

WIRES Cognitive Science

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Spoken language, as we have it, requires specific capacities-at its most basic advanced vocal control and complex social cognition. In humans, vocal control is the basis for speech, achieved through coordinated interactions of larynx activity and rapid changes in vocal tract configurations. Most likely, speech evolved in response to early humans perceiving reality in increasingly complex ways, to the effect that primate-like signaling became unsustainable as a sole communication device. However, in what ways did and do humans see the world in more complex ways compared to other species? Although animal signals can refer to external events, in contrast to humans, they usually refer to the agents only, sometimes in compositional ways, but never together with patients. It may be difficult for animals to comprehend events as part of larger social scripts, with antecedent causes and future consequences, which are more typically tie the patient into the event. Human brain enlargement over the last million years probably has provided the cognitive resources to represent social interactions as part of bigger social scripts, which enabled humans to go beyond an agent-focus to refer to agent-patient relations, the likely foundation for the evolution of grammar.

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“…In efforts to resolve this uncertainty, the past half-century has seen a rise in comparative studies investigating the extent to which language-specific traits are also present in more simple forms in nonhuman animals [7][8][9]. Such research has revealed analogues of traits, previously thought to be uniquely human, are also observed in several lineages (including functional referentiality [9][10][11], intentionality [12,13] and vocal learning [14,15]). These studies highlight the importance of the comparative research method when investigating language's origin, as a valuable tool to provide insight into the evolutionary paths of language-specific abilities [16][17][18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi-level combinatoriality in magpie non-song vocalizations

Walsh

Engesser

Townsend

et al. 2023

J. R. Soc. Interface.

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Comparative studies conducted over the past few decades have provided important insights into the capacity for animals to combine vocal segments at either one of two levels: within- or between-calls. There remains, however, a distinct gap in knowledge as to whether animal combinatoriality can extend beyond one level. Investigating this requires a comprehensive analysis of the combinatorial features characterizing a species' vocal system. Here, we used a nonlinear dimensionality reduction analysis and sequential transition analysis to quantitatively describe the non-song combinatorial repertoire of the Western Australian magpie ( Gymnorhina tibicen dorsalis ). We found that (i) magpies recombine four distinct acoustic segments to create a larger number of calls, and (ii) the resultant calls are further combined into larger call combinations. Our work demonstrates two levels in the combining of magpie vocal units. These results are incongruous with the notion that a capacity for multi-level combinatoriality is unique to human language, wherein the combining of meaningless sounds and meaningful words interactively occurs across different combinatorial levels. Our study thus provides novel insights into the combinatorial capacities of a non-human species, adding to the growing evidence of analogues of language-specific traits present in the animal kingdom.

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Vocal learning in animals and humans

Abstract: One contribution of 21 to a theme issue 'Vocal learning in animals and humans'.

Cited by 25 publications

References 36 publications

The honest sound of physical effort

The honest sound of physical effort

Transition to language: From agent perception to event representation

Multi-level combinatoriality in magpie non-song vocalizations

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