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Talking Heads

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A Brain for Speech

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Abstract

In this chapter, comparative and developmental evidence in mammals for the origin of human speech is discussed. Some mammals display learned, song-like vocalizations, in line with Darwin’s proposal that speech derives from voiced melodies produced by our ancestors. Nonetheless, apes have little voluntary control of vocalizations. Other evidence points to lip movements as precursors of early speech, as this behavior is under voluntary control in apes. Another line of evidence for language origins comes from research in speech acquisition in human infants, which has revealed the relevance of social signals and parent’s feedback in speech acquisition. Notably, genes associated to language impairments participate in vocal learning in other species, indicating convergence of genetic processes for similar behaviors.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    http://www.livescience.com/55699-mother-dolphins-teach-babies-signature-whistle.html

  2. 2.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zr2eunVDxw

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  1. Department of Psychiatry, Medical School, and Interdisciplinary Center for Neuroscience, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile

    Francisco Aboitiz

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Aboitiz, F. (2017). Talking Heads. In: A Brain for Speech. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54060-7_10

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