From Language to Languages
Jean-Marie Hombert
CNRS and University of Lyon
International School on Complexity
Erice, 14-19 July 2007
Language Emergence?
 Study of 6000 languages spoken today
(universals, diachrony)
 Language acquisition
(Onto vs. Phylogenesis)
 Language decay
(Pathology, Endangered langages)
 Comparative studies of communication
systems of non-human primates
Continuity vs.discontinuity
 « C’est une chose bien remarquable qu’il n’y a
point d’hommes si hébétés et si stupides, sans
excepter même les insensés, qu’ils ne soient
capables d’arranger ensemble diverses paroles,
et d’en composer un discours par lequel ils
fassent entendre leurs pensées; et qu’au
contraire, il n’y a point d’autre animal, tant parfait
et tant heureusement né qu’il puisse être, qui
fasse le semblable. »
Descartes, Discours de la méthode, 1637
« The unboundedness of human speech,
as an expression of limitless thought is an
entirely different matter from animal
communication because of the freedom
from stimulus control and the
appropriateness to new situations…
Modern studies of animal communication
so far offer no counter-evidence to the
Cartesian assumption that human
language is based on an entirely different
principle. »
Chomsky, 1966, p.77-8
« But the question whether an ape has a
language faculty is a meaningless
question and therefore nobody should talk
about it .»
Chomsky, cited by Belsack et al 1999, p 35
« I cannot doubt that language owes its
origin to the imitation and modification,
aided by signs and gestures, of various
natural sounds, the voices of other
animals, and man’s own distinctive cries. »
Darwin, 1872, p. 56
Role of vocalizations
- Group cohesion
- Avoid predators
- Access to food
- Reproduction
Vocalizations are non-volontary, linked to an
emotional state (role of context)
Signals cannot be segmented or recombined
to create new sequences
Signals are not directed at specific individuals
The production of vocalizations originates from
subcortical and limbic regions of the brain
(not from cortical regions used for speech by
humans)
But communication is more than…
Vocalization among non-human primates
Articulated language among Homo sapiens
Borderline Human language
 Isolated « words »
Cries, Laughs
Music??
… Close to characteristics of primate
vocalizations
Communicative gestures
used by non-human primates
 About thirty gestures have been identified by Tomasello
and colleagues (chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas)
 Raise one’s arm
 Hit the ground
 Touch another individual
 Imperatives (request)
 Directed at specific individuals
 Great variability, Individual innovations
Communicative gestures
Intentionals, non emotionals
(Tomasello : visual signals in visual field, tactile
signals in non visual field)
 Use of right hand
(Vauclair, baboons; Hopkins, chimpanzees)
Analogic vs.digital
Human sound system : digital
Borderline signals are analogic
(laughs, cries)
Primates
Homo
sapiens
 Vocalizations
Borderline
language
 Communicative
gestures
Langage
Present situation
How many languages spoken today?
Precise evaluation is difficult
• Language/dialect
• Non investigated zones
• Rapid decrease in the number of languages
Between 5 and 10.000 languages (6000)
Historical linguistics
Classification
Reconstruction
Paleolinguistics
Further back in time
« Environmental » context
Limits of « traditional » historical linguistics:
8 to 10.000 years
Use of language
classification
 Grouping existing languages in sets which
contain languages descending from the
same « mother » language also called proto
language
(this proto-language is a different notion
from Bickerton’s proto-language)
 These languages have a common history
(migrations)
Use of Linguistic
Reconstructions
Structure and lexicon of proto language
Homeland
Flora and fauna
Proto-culture
Social structure
Technological development
Specific questions
Hunting/Fishing techniques
Animal domestication
Agriculture
Iron technology
Map of language families
How many language families?
It depends on the time depth
considered:
Today: 6000 languages
2000 BP: 300 « groups »
5000 BP: 50 « groups »
>10.000 BP: 10-25 « groups »
Families, stocks, phyla, macro-phyla
Lumpers vs. splitters
Splitters : Use of « strict » comparative
method
Lumpers : Use of « fragile » evidence to
go back to THE Proto-language
A sterile debate : need for collaboration
based on large shared data bases
Gap between 100.000 BP
and 10.000 BP
Mosaic evolution :
Anatomically Modern Man
Culturally Modern Man
Need to develop a corresponding notion of
Linguisitically Modern Man
Linguistically Modern Man
Polygenesis vs. Mosaic evolution
Need to account for complexity of
communication systems required for :
Cave paintings
Sea crossings
Necklaces
(30.000 BP)
(50.000 BP)
(100.000 BP)
Early traces of language use
Burials: intentional burials? offerings?
Sea- crossing : planing, raft construction
Homo sapiens in Australia at 60.000 BP
Sea levels
(from Bard & al., 1990)
Topographic base: TerrainBase (Row & hastings, 1999)
- 30m
- 50m
- 80m
Possible migration paths
FIN
Larynx position
Infant
Adult
Larynx (Lieberman et al.)
Larynx (Lieberman et al.)
Role of larynx lowering
According to Lieberman, lowering of the
larynx is necessary to allow speech
production
Problems :
- faulty reconstructions (Boe)
- larynx lowering in other species (Fitch)
Why is our larynx lowered?
Larynx lowering at puberty
.
Pharynx Length (mm)
65
60
55
50
F
45
M
40
35
30
25
Pre
Peri
Post
Pharynx length
17
16
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
1.25
r 2 = 0.859
Log VTL
Vocal Tract Length
Correlation between body size
and vocal tract length
1.2
r 2 = 0.886
1.15
1.1
1.05
1
80
100 120 140 160 180 200
Height (cm)
.95
4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 5
log10 Weight (g)
Perception of vocal tract
length (Fitch, 2000)
4.6
Body Size Rating
4.4
4.2
4.0
3.8
3.6
3.4
3.2
3.0
15
16
17
Vocal Tract Length (cm)
18
Conclusion…
Larynx lowering is not a necessary
condition for speech production
Strong correlation between larynx lowering
and perception of body size