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What bats have to say about speech and language
1Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. sonja.vernes@mpi.nl.
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
|July 3, 2016
Summary
Bats offer a novel animal model for studying human language evolution. Their complex vocalizations and behaviors like vocal learning provide insights into the biological underpinnings of spoken language.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Neuroscience
- Bioacoustics
Background:
- Understanding the biological basis of human language evolution is crucial.
- Animal models are valuable for studying shared biological traits.
- Previous research focused on primates and songbirds.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose Chiropterans (bats) as a novel animal model for investigating human language-relevant traits.
- To highlight the relevance of bat vocalizations and behaviors for understanding language evolution.
Main Methods:
- Reviewing existing literature on animal vocal communication and behavior.
- Identifying language-relevant traits in bats, including vocal learning and social vocalizations.
- Discussing emerging technologies for studying bat vocal communication at multiple levels (behavioral, neurobiological, molecular).
Main Results:
- Bats possess complex vocalizations for navigation and social interaction.
- Bats exhibit vocal learning and vocal turn-taking, behaviors pertinent to human spoken language.
- Bats are highly sensitive to acoustic information.
Conclusions:
- Bats represent a promising, yet underutilized, model for studying the biological encoding and evolution of human language.
- Comparative studies across diverse species, including bats, can illuminate shared biological mechanisms underlying language evolution.
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