The evolution of infant-directed communication: Comparing vocal input across all great apes
Franziska Wegdell1,2, Caroline Fryns3, Johanna Schick2
1Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Science Advances
|June 25, 2025
Summary
Human infants receive significantly more infant-directed communication than great ape infants, suggesting this communication style evolved with human language. Early hominins likely used surrounding communication more before infant-directed speech became prominent.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary anthropology
- Primatology
- Linguistics
Background:
- Human language acquisition relies on learning and intergenerational transmission.
- Infant-directed communication (IDC) is crucial for language development.
- The evolutionary origins of IDC in the primate lineage are not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the presence and quantity of infant-directed vocal communication in humans and nonhuman great apes.
- To determine if IDC is a uniquely human trait or has deeper primate roots.
- To understand the role of IDC in the evolution of human language.
Main Methods:
- Comparative analysis of vocal communication directed at infants versus surrounding communication.
- Observation of human infants and infants of wild nonhuman great apes.
- Quantitative assessment of communication types received by infants.
Main Results:
- Human infants receive substantially more infant-directed communication than infants of nonhuman great apes.
- Significant differences in communication strategies were observed between human and great ape infants.
- Vocal communication patterns differ markedly between human and nonhuman primate infants.
Conclusions:
- Infant-directed vocal communication appears to be a more recent development in human evolution, not deeply rooted in primate ancestry.
- Early hominins likely relied more on surrounding communication for communicative competence.
- The rise of infant-directed communication is strongly linked to the evolution of human language.
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