Chimpanzee lip-smacks confirm primate continuity for speech-rhythm evolution
| Autor: | Katie E. Slocombe, André S. Pereira, Catherine Hobaiter, Eithne Kavanagh, Adriano R. Lameira |
|---|---|
| Přispěvatelé: | Carnegie Trust, University of St Andrews. School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews. Centre for Social Learning & Cognitive Evolution |
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
Speech-like rhythm
Primates BF Psychology Pan troglodytes Lip-smacks BF Speech evolution Q1 QH301 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Speech rhythm Rhythm Group differences biology.animal Animals Humans Speech Primate Chimpanzees Phylogeny 030304 developmental biology QL 0303 health sciences Phylogenetic tree biology Perspective (graphical) DAS Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous) Biological Evolution Nonhuman primate Lip Great apes Variation (linguistics) Evolutionary biology GN Animal Behaviour Vocalization Animal General Agricultural and Biological Sciences 030217 neurology & neurosurgery |
| Zdroj: | Biol Lett |
| ISSN: | 1744-957X 1744-9561 |
| Popis: | This research was supported by the Research Incentive Grant of The Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland (grant no. RIG008132) attributed to A.R.L. Speech is a human hallmark, but its evolutionary origins continue to defy scientific explanation. Recently, the open–close mouth rhythm of 2–7 Hz (cycles/second) characteristic of all spoken languages has been identified in the orofacial signals of several nonhuman primate genera, including orangutans, but evidence from any of the African apes remained missing. Evolutionary continuity for the emergence of speech is, thus, still inconclusive. To address this empirical gap, we investigated the rhythm of chimpanzee lip-smacks across four populations (two captive and two wild). We found that lip-smacks exhibit a speech-like rhythm at approximately 4 Hz, closing a gap in the evidence for the evolution of speech-rhythm within the primate order. We observed sizeable rhythmic variation within and between chimpanzee populations, with differences of over 2 Hz at each level. This variation did not result, however, in systematic group differences within our sample. To further explore the phylogenetic and evolutionary perspective on this variability, inter-individual and inter-population analyses will be necessary across primate species producing mouth signals at speech-like rhythm. Our findings support the hypothesis that speech recruited ancient primate rhythmic signals and suggest that multi-site studies may still reveal new windows of understanding about these signals' use and production along the evolutionary timeline of speech. Postprint |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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