Origins of Human Language - Why Us?

11 important questions on Origins of Human Language - Why Us?

What are the three communication elements of the dance of honeybees that Karl von Frisch (1967) described?

The direction in which the nectar source is located --> up towards the top of hive -- heading straight to the sun
The distance of the source --> the longer the dance, the farther away
The quality of the source  --> shaking with great vigor is the jackpot, lesser source is just a wiggle

What is an example of a variation in the dialects that bees have?

They might vary in how long they dance along in a directional path to indicate a distance of 200 meters.

Is there some intriguing evidence that bees can learn to interpret foreign dialects of other bees?

Yes there is, acoording to the research of Fu et al. (2008)
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What do the languages of bees and humans have in common?

Bees move around to represent something in the real world, like a map. Human language also critically relies on symbolic representation, but usually in sequences of sound.

Which of Hockett's design features are not applicable to monkeys?

Displacement --> language is not used to refer to things that are not in the same time/space
Duality of patterning --> sounds do not sound similar
Productivity --> no new messages that have never been said before

Which of Hockett's design features are applicable to monkeys when they warn other monkeys for predators?

Semanticity --> fixed associaties with language units and aspects of the world
Arbitrariness --> meaningful associations between language and the world are arbitrary

What are two kinds of studies that studied how apes communicate when exposed to a language-rich environment with humans?

Intensive formal teaching sessions
Raising apes as human children by learning them language through observation and interaction

Why was it hard to teach apes to produce vocal sounds?


Apes have extremely limited control over their vocalizations and simply can’t articulate different-sounding words.


What does Evolutionary adaptations mean?

Genetically transmitted traits that give their bearers an advantage specifically, an adaptive trait helps individuals with that trait to stay alive long enough to reproduce and/or to have many offspring.

What are the two categories that the skills that support language fall into?

(1) those that are necessary to get language off the ground but aren’t really specific to language

(2) traits that evolved particularly because they make language more powerful and efficient.

Why is it easier to make the case for the genetic determination of vervet calls or honeybee dances than it is for human language?


-other species seem genetically pre-wired to make specific sounds tied to specific meanings, even from birth

-specific/limited use
-only some of H's design features

honeybee dances (waggles):
3 types of info: direction, distance, quality

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