The origin of articulate language revisited:
the potential of a semi-aquatic past of human ancestors to explain the origin of human musicality and articulate language
Mario Vaneechoutte 2014 Hum.Evol.29:1-33

Articulate language depends on very different abilities, e.g.
- vocal dexterity,
- vocal mimicking,
- the acquirement by children of the very different & arbitrary phonology & grammatical structure of any language.

A vast array of experiments confirm that children acquire grammar by
- the use of prosodic clues (basically intonation & pitch),
- facial expression & gesture.

Prosodic clues, provided by speech, are exaggerated in infant-directed speech (motherese).
Strong overlap between musical & linguistic syntactic abilities in the temporal lobes of the brain has been established.
A musical origin of language at the evolutionary level (for H.sapiens) & at the ontogenic level (for each newborn) is parsimonious, and no longer refutable.

Why was song (vocal dexterity & vocal learning) present in our species?
why is it largely absent from other ‘terrestrial’ animals (incl. other primates),
but present in disjoint groups: Cetacea, seals, bats, 3 orders of birds?

We argue:
this enigma (+ a long list of other specifically human characteristics) is best understood by assuming that our recent ancestors (from 3 Ma onwards) adopted a shallow-water diving lifestyle.
The swimming & diving adaptations of the upper airway (& vocal) tract lead to
- increased vocal dexterity & song,
- increased fine-tuning of motoric & mimicking abilities.
These are shared by creatures that can
- freely move in 3 dimensions (swimming, flying) &
- respond instantaneously to behavioural changes of other animals.

Increased bodily mimicking + increased vocal dexterity (both a consequence of a semi-aquatic lifestyle) lead to integrated song & dance, which predisposed to
- producing & mimicking speech & gesture,
- the ability to use prosodic clues to learn the grammar of whichever language.

On Sunday, July 11, 2021 at 4:04:50 AM UTC-4, littor...@gmail.com wrote:
> The origin of articulate language revisited:
> the potential of a semi-aquatic past of human ancestors to explain the origin of human musicality and articulate language
> Mario Vaneechoutte 2014 Hum.Evol.29:1-33
>
> Articulate language depends on very different abilities, e.g.
> - vocal dexterity,
> - vocal mimicking,
> - the acquirement by children of the very different & arbitrary phonology & grammatical structure of any language.
>
> A vast array of experiments confirm that children acquire grammar by
> - the use of prosodic clues (basically intonation & pitch),
> - facial expression & gesture.
>
> Prosodic clues, provided by speech, are exaggerated in infant-directed speech (motherese).
> Strong overlap between musical & linguistic syntactic abilities in the temporal lobes of the brain has been established.
> A musical origin of language at the evolutionary level (for H.sapiens) & at the ontogenic level (for each newborn) is parsimonious, and no longer refutable.
>
> Why was song (vocal dexterity & vocal learning) present in our species?
> why is it largely absent from other ‘terrestrial’ animals (incl. other primates),
> but present in disjoint groups: Cetacea, seals, bats, 3 orders of birds?
>
> We argue:
> this enigma (+ a long list of other specifically human characteristics) is best understood by assuming that our recent ancestors (from 3 Ma onwards) adopted a shallow-water diving lifestyle.
> The swimming & diving adaptations of the upper airway (& vocal) tract lead to
> - increased vocal dexterity & song,
> - increased fine-tuning of motoric & mimicking abilities.
> These are shared by creatures that can
> - freely move in 3 dimensions (swimming, flying) &
> - respond instantaneously to behavioural changes of other animals.
>
> Increased bodily mimicking + increased vocal dexterity (both a consequence of a semi-aquatic lifestyle) lead to integrated song & dance, which predisposed to
> - producing & mimicking speech & gesture,
> - the ability to use prosodic clues to learn the grammar of whichever language.

Sweets & vocal learning correlation

Meanwhile, Sushma Reddy, an ornithologist at the University of Minnesota, points out that hummingbirds, songbirds, and parrots, three groups of birds with lots of nectar-eating species, “are also the same lineages that have convergently evolved vocal learning”—the ability to make new songs and sounds after listening to other individuals. Could these traits be related? Perhaps there’s a hidden connection between the sugary riches of Australia’s forests and the beautiful tunes that fill the air of every continent—between sweetness of palate and sweetness of voice.

Ed Yong is a staff writer at The Atlantic, where he covers science.
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