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Nonadjacent dependency processing in monkeys, apes, and humans
Stuart K Watson1,2, Judith M Burkart3, Steven J Schapiro4,5
1Department of Comparative Language Science, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. swatso88@gmail.com.
Science Advances
|October 22, 2020
Summary
Nonadjacent dependency processing, crucial for human language, was found in marmosets and chimpanzees. This suggests the cognitive ability for complex syntax is an ancient trait, predating language evolution by millions of years.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive science
- Evolutionary biology
- Linguistics
Background:
- Human language relies on processing syntactic relationships, including nonadjacent dependencies.
- Understanding the evolutionary origins of nonadjacent dependency processing is limited by a lack of comparative data from apes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate nonadjacent dependency processing in common marmosets and chimpanzees.
- To compare the abilities of monkeys, apes, and humans in processing complex syntactic structures.
Main Methods:
- Utilized artificial grammars with acoustic stimuli to test dependency processing.
- Assessed generalization to novel stimuli and detection of grammatical violations across species.
Main Results:
- Marmosets, chimpanzees, and humans demonstrated the ability to process nonadjacent dependencies.
- No significant difference was observed in sensitivity to nonadjacent dependencies between marmosets and chimpanzees.
Conclusions:
- Nonadjacent dependency processing is present in monkeys and apes, indicating an ancient evolutionary origin.
- This crucial cognitive faculty for language evolved at least 40 million years before human language itself.
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