1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910818223003321

Titolo

Primate communication and human language : vocalisation, gestures, imitation and deixis in humans and non-humans / / edited by Anne Vilain, Jean-Luc Schwartz, Christian Abry, Jacques Vauclair

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Amsterdam ; ; Philadelphia, : John Benjamins Pub. Co., 2011

ISBN

1-283-05149-4

9786613051493

90-272-8731-7

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

239 p. : ill. (some col.)

Collana

Advances in interaction studies (AIS) ; ; v. 1

Altri autori (Persone)

VilainAnne

SchwartzJean-Luc

AbryChristian

VauclairJacques

Disciplina

302.2/2

Soggetti

Oral communication

Visual communication

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

pt. 1. Primate vocal communication : new findings about its complexity, adaptability and control -- pt. 2. Neurophysiological, behavioural and ontogenetic data on the evolution of communicative orofacial and manual gestures -- pt. 3. Emergence and development of speech, gestures and language.

Sommario/riassunto

It has been argued that only humans have volitional control of their vocalizations and that this ability allowed for the evolution of speech. Here we argue that recent studies in chimpanzees suggest that they do, in fact have some degree of voluntary control of both their vocalizations as well as their facial expressions. We further argue, based on recent studies, that chimpanzees understand the functional significance of using vocalizations or sounds in communicative and social contexts, specifically as a means of obtaining the attention of an otherwise inattentive human. The ability of chimpanzees to voluntarily produce vocal signals and functionally manipulate social agents with them may be an important precursor in the evolution of human spoken



language.