Title
Vocal Development as a Guide to Modeling the Evolution of Language.
Abstract
Modeling of evolution and development of language has principally utilized mature units of spoken language, phonemes and words, as both targets and inputs. This approach cannot address the earliest phases of development because young infants are unable to produce such language features. We argue that units of early vocal development-protophones and their primitive illocutionary/perlocutionary forces-should be targeted in evolutionary modeling because they suggest likely units of hominin vocalization/communication shortly after the split from the chimpanzee/bonobo lineage, and because early development of spontaneous vocal capability is a logically necessary step toward vocal language, a root capability without which other crucial steps toward vocal language capability are impossible. Modeling of language evolution/development must account for dynamic change in early communicative units of form/function across time. We argue for interactive contributions of sender/infants and receiver/caregivers in a feedback loop involving both development and evolution and propose to begin computational modeling at the hominin break from the primate communicative background.
Year
DOI
Venue
2016
10.1111/tops.12198
TOPICS IN COGNITIVE SCIENCE
Keywords
Field
DocType
Vocal development,Language evolution,Computational modeling,Spontaneous vocalization,Parent-infant interaction,Illocution,Perlocution
Biological evolution,Communication,Cognitive science,Bonobo,Communication source,Psychology,Language development,Spoken language,Language evolution
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
8.0
2.0
1756-8757
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
1
0.36
2
Authors
3
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
D. Kimbrough Oller1122.55
Ulrike Griebel221.05
Anne S. Warlaumont3459.21