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Physical mechanisms may be as important as brain mechanisms in evolution of speech

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 December 2014

Bart de Boer  and
Marcus Perlman
Bart de Boer
Affiliation:
Artificial Intelligence Lab, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050 Brussels, Belgium. [email protected]://ai.vub.ac.be/members/bart
Marcus Perlman
Affiliation:
Department of Cognitive and Information Sciences, University of California–Merced, Merced, CA 95343. [email protected]
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Abstract

We present two arguments why physical adaptations for vocalization may be as important as neural adaptations. First, fine control over vocalization is not easy for physical reasons, and modern humans may be exceptional. Second, we present an example of a gorilla that shows rudimentary voluntary control over vocalization, indicating that some neural control is already shared with great apes.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 37 , Issue 6 , December 2014 , pp. 552 - 553
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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