Kurt Hammerschmidt
2011
Ultrasonic vocalizations in mouse models for speech and socio-cognitive disorders: insights into the evolution of vocal communicationdoi.orgPDF
Genes, Brain and Behavior 10(1):17--27, 2011
Comparative analyses used to reconstruct the evolution of traits associated with the human language faculty, including its socio-cognitive underpinnings, highlight the importance of evolutionary constraints limiting vocal learning in non-human primates. After a brief ...
2010
Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on the Evolution of Language, pages 129-136, 2010
There is currently considerable disagreement about the value of different theoretical accounts that have been employed to explain the evolution of communication. In this paper, we review some of the core tenets of the 'adaptationist' and the 'informational' account. We argue that ...MORE ⇓
There is currently considerable disagreement about the value of different theoretical accounts that have been employed to explain the evolution of communication. In this paper, we review some of the core tenets of the 'adaptationist' and the 'informational' account. We argue that the former has its strength mainly in explaining the evolution of signals and the maintenance of honest signaling, while the latter is indispensible for understanding the cognitive mechanisms underpinning signal usage, structure, and comprehension. Importantly, the informational account that incorporates linguistic concepts is necessary prerequisite to identify which design features of language are shared with nonhuman primates or other animals, and which ones constitute derived traits specific for the human lineage.