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Proto-consonants were information-dense via identical bioacoustic tags to proto-vowels

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Lameira, Adriano R., Vicente, Raquel, Alexandre, Antonio, Campbell-Smith, Gail, Knott, Cheryl, Wich, Serge and Hardus, Madeleine E. (2017) Proto-consonants were information-dense via identical bioacoustic tags to proto-vowels. Nature Human Behaviour, 1 . 0044 . doi:10.1038/s41562-017-0044 ISSN 2397-3374.

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-017-0044

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Abstract

Why did our ancestors combine the first consonant- A nd vowel-like utterances to produce the first syllable or word? To answer this question, it is essential to know what constituted the communicative function of proto-consonants and of proto-vowels before their combined use became universal. Almost nothing is known, however, about consonant-like calls in the primate order[1,2]. Here, we investigate a large collection of voiceless consonant-like calls in nonhuman great apes (our closest relatives), namely orangutans (Pongo spp.). We analysed 4,486 kiss-squeaks collected across 48 individuals in four wild populations. Despite idiosyncratic production mechanics, consonant-like calls displayed information-dense content and the same acoustic signatures found in voiced vowel-like calls by nonhuman primates, implying similar biological functions. Selection regimes between proto-consonants and proto-vowels were thus probably indistinguishable at the dawn of spoken language evolution. Our findings suggest that the first proto-syllables or proto-words in our lineage probably constituted message reiterations, instead of messages of increasing intricacy.

Item Type: Journal Article
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Q Science > Q Science (General)
Q Science > QL Zoology
Divisions: Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Psychology
Journal or Publication Title: Nature Human Behaviour
Publisher: Springer Nature Group
ISSN: 2397-3374
Official Date: 8 February 2017
Dates:
DateEvent
8 February 2017Published
3 January 2017Accepted
Volume: 1
Article Number: 0044
DOI: 10.1038/s41562-017-0044
Status: Peer Reviewed
Publication Status: Published
Access rights to Published version: Restricted or Subscription Access
Date of first compliant deposit: 18 October 2019
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